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Tag Archives: dark fantasy

Deadmarsh Fey Cover Reveal

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Posted by Melika Dannese Lux in Book Spotlight, Missives, News, Updates

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Hi Everyone!

I’m thrilled to finally get to share the details about my new novel with you. Here it is…Deadmarsh Fey!

fey_promo

Flesh and bone and hearts unknown, lead to the rath and your fate will be shown…

Deadmarsh. The name struck terror into the hearts of all who heard it. But to Roger Knightley, neither Deadmarsh the house, nor Deadmarsh the family, had ever been anything to fear. Nearly each summer of his young life had been spent in that manor on the moors, having wild adventures with his cousin, Lockie, the Deadmarsh heir. This year should have been no different, but when Roger arrives, he finds everything, and everyone, changed. The grounds are unkempt, the servants long gone. Kip, the family cat, has inexplicably grown and glares at Roger as if he is trying to read the boy’s mind. Roger’s eldest cousin, Travers, always treated as a servant, now dresses like a duchess and wears round her neck a strange moonstone given to her by someone known as Master Coffyn, who has taken over the teaching of Lockie at a school in Wales called Nethermarrow.

And soon after he crosses the threshold of Deadmarsh, Roger discovers that Coffyn has overtaken Lockie. The boy is deceitful, riddled with fear, and has returned bearing tales of creatures called Jagged Ones that claim to be of the Fey and can somehow conceal themselves while standing in the full light of the moon. What they want with Lockie, Roger cannot fathom, until the horror within his cousin lashes out, and it becomes savagely clear that these Jagged Ones and the Dark Wreaker they serve are not only after Lockie and Travers, but Roger, too.

Joining forces with an ally whose true nature remains hidden, Roger seeks to unravel the tapestry of lies woven round his family’s connection to the death-haunted world of Everl’aria—and the Dark Wreaker who calls it home. The deeper Roger delves into the past, the more he begins to suspect that the tales of dark deeds done in the forest behind Deadmarsh, deeds in which village children made sacrifice to an otherworldly beast and were never seen or heard from again, are true. And if there is truth in these outlandish stories, what of the rumor that it was not an earthquake which rocked the moors surrounding Deadmarsh sixteen years ago, but a winged nightmare attempting to break free of its underground prison? Enlisting the aid of a monster equipped with enough inborn firepower to blast his enemies into oblivion might be as suicidal as Roger’s friends insist, yet the boy knows he needs all the help he can get if there is to be any hope of defeating not only the Dark Wreaker and his servants, but an unholy trinity known as the Bear, the Wolf, and the Curse That Walks The Earth.

And then there is the foe named Blood Wood, who might be the deadliest of them all.

Racing against time, Roger must find a way to end the battle being waged across worlds before the night of Lockie’s eleventh birthday—two days hence. If he fails, blood will drown the earth. And Roger and his entire family will fulfill the prophecy of fey’s older, more lethal meaning…

Fated to die.

To preorder the novel in Kindle format (the paperback edition will be available on the day of the book’s release, May 2nd, 2018), click here.

Below is a short piece I wrote, giving more detail about the creation of the book’s menacing cover art!

The Anatomy of A Book Cover

by Melika Dannese Lux

The title was there from the beginning. The idea for the cover, as well—a vision of the fog-haunted nightmare Roger Knightley unwittingly walks into the moment he sets foot in Deadmarsh, the manor on the moors which shares its name with his kin.

Four years and nearly 700 pages later, I finally had the book. You’d think that would have marked the end of the heavy-lifting. All the hard work of writing was over; now it was time for the fun to begin. Time to jacket the pages in dazzling attire and send the novel out into the world…

But you’d be wrong. It’s one thing to have a vision in your head for what you want the cover to look like; it’s quite another to find an artist who gets that vision and is able to magic it into life. Several designers told me my concept was much too technical and complex to ever be featured on the cover of a book. Images that matched my vision just did not exist, and Carver, that charming little blue fellow (So adorable, isn’t he? *shudders*) lurking behind Roger Knightley (I’d like to see what kind of look you’d have on your face were you in Roger’s position!), would be impossible to portray, not to mention the writing on the mirror from a source that might be ally…or enemy. Actually, forget the writing. Even the mirror itself was in doubt!

I’m a tenacious person. All right, fine, let’s be honest and stop sugarcoating. I’m as intractable as a shark that’s latched onto a seal it has singled out for its lunch. I refused to believe no one could do this! It seemed, to quote that wise sage, Vizzini, “Inconceivable!” And it was! Because very soon after I had cut ties with yet another designer, I was fortunate enough to meet Ravven.

*insert wild clapping for this amazingly talented artist*

A handful of cover iterations were all it took. Ravven was able to reach into my imagination and extract every element that had been racketing around in there for years. From the beautiful woman hovering outside the window, to the blue fog she brought with her from whence she came, to the cat, the mirror, and its writing…and, most of all, to those two combatants in the foreground, the boy and his otherworldly tormentor with talons black as obsidian and sharper than carving knives—it was uncanny how in synch with my vision Ravven was. Her work astounded me, and I am still in awe of it.

Those you see on the cover of Deadmarsh Fey, friend and foe alike, you shall meet within the pages of the book.

Dare you be led to the rath for your fate to be shown?

If yes, then dive in.

And remember …beware what’s hiding in the moonlight.

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Redaction, & Jagged Ones, & Bears—oh, my!

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Posted by Melika Dannese Lux in Book Spotlight, Excerpts, Fun Stuff, News, Updates

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afoot, apaw, atrocities, Authors, autumn, believer, bellows, bigger, black cats, blog, blogger, bloodcurdling, boarding school, book series, books, Books In My Belfry, born, burial ground, by your leave, cat, cats, celts, City of Lights, claws, Coffyn, committed, corcitura, creatures, curses, dark, dark fantasy, darkness, deadly, demon, demonic, demons, devoured, dragons, druids, dwellers, earth, editing, eerie, England, epic, Eric Bradburry, evil, exciting, faeries, fall, fall release, fantasy, female author, fey, ghosts, Goodreads, greater than iron, grown, guardians, guys, halloween, hollow, horror, Humor, hunting, Ilyse Charpentier, iron, jagged, jagged ones, joke, Kindle, knew, Knightley, light, light bearer, lightning, Lockie, lux, malevolence, May, Melika Dannese Lux, men, mere, monsters, moors, Mystery, Nethermarrow, new books, news, night, novel, novelist, novels, ones. Bear, otherworld, paws, Penny Dreadful, pict, publication, publishing, pun, rain, redaction, return, roger, Roger Knightley, scary, school, secrets, series, shadowplay, shapeshifting, sharp, silver, slumbering, snippet, soul ties, spies, spring, spycraft, staff, stash, storm, subterfuge, summer, Suspense, tease, teaser, the game is afoot, the return, Thriller, thunder, transformation, travers, Tuesday, updates, valet, wagner, Wales, werebear, Werewolf, what, wild boars, winter, within, woke, woman, woods, years, Yorkshire, young

Well, it’s that time again! I’m only going to be posting a few more teasers from the new book after this snippet, which happens to be one of my favorites. Chapter 9 is quite eventful, and due to the sensitivity of its title, and the identity of a chief character within it, I had to engage in a bit of spycraft and redact said character’s name. Humor me, guys. If I give away all my secrets, there’ll be no reason for you to read the book!

Third Teaser Tuesday post--8-28-17

I bet you’re now consumed with curiosity about the Bear and what exactly those Jagged Ones are, right?  😉

Hope you enjoyed this sneak peek!

All the best,

~Melika

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The Darkness Within—Tuesday Teaser

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Posted by Melika Dannese Lux in Book Spotlight, Excerpts, Fun Stuff, News, Updates

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afoot, apaw, Authors, autumn, bellows, bigger, black cats, blog, blogger, boarding school, book series, books, Books In My Belfry, burial ground, by your leave, cats, celts, child, City of Lights, claws, Coffyn, corcitura, creatures, curses, dark, dark fantasy, darkness, deadly, demons, dragons, druids, dwellers, editing, eerie, England, epic, Eric Bradburry, evil, exciting, faeries, fall, fall release, fantasy, female author, fey, ghosts, Goodreads, grown, guardians, halloween, hollow, horror, hunting, Ilyse Charpentier, inspiration, iron, Kindle, Knightley, light, light bearer, lightning, Lockie, lux, malevolence, May, Melika Dannese Lux, monsters, moors, Mystery, Nethermarrow, new books, news, night, novelist, novels, otherworld, paws, pict, publication, publishing, pun, rain, return, roger, Roger Knightley, scary, school, secrets, series, sharp, silver, slumbering, snippet, son, soul ties, staff, storm, Suspense, tease, teaser, the game is afoot, the return, Thriller, thunder, transformation, travers, updates, valet, Wales, wild boars, within, woke, woods, Yorkshire, young

Hi Guys!

Well, here it is, the second Tuesday Teaser from my new book. This excerpt was taken from Chapter 2, The Darkness Within.

Second Teaser Tuesday Post--8-21-17

Oooo! What did he wake up, I wonder?  😉

Look for another snippet next week. I hope you are enjoying these!

All the best,

~Melika

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Teaser Tuesday—The Return

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Posted by Melika Dannese Lux in Book Spotlight, Excerpts, Fun Stuff, News, Updates

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2017, afoot, apaw, Authors, autumn, bellows, best, bigger, black cats, blog, blogger, books, Books In My Belfry, by your leave, cat's paw, cats, City of Lights, claws, corcitura, curses, dark, dark fantasy, darkness, deadly, demons, dwarf, dwellers, editing, eerie, England, epic, Eric Bradburry, everyone, exciting, faeries, fall, fall release, fantasy, female author, fey, ghosts, Goodreads, grown, guardians, halloween, hunting, Ilyse Charpentier, Kindle, Kip, large, light, light bearer, lightning, lux, May, melika, Melika Dannese Lux, moors, mouser, Mystery, new, new books, news, next, night, novelist, novels, paws, posting, publication, publishing, rain, return, roger, Roger Knightley, secrets, series, sharp, silver, since, soul ties, staff, storm, Suspense, tease, teaser, the game is afoot, the return, Thriller, thunder, tips, transformation, travers, undergone, updates, valet, velvet, week, wild boars, woods, Yorkshire

Hi Everyone!

First, a little update. I finished writing my third novel in May and have spent the last few months editing and taking the necessary steps toward publication, which will FINALLY happen this Fall. But in the meantime, how about a little teaser from the new book? This novel does have a title, I promise. I’m just attempting to draw out the suspense as long as I can.  😉

And now, without further ado, here is a sneak peek taken from Chapter 1, The Return.

(2) First Teaser Tuesday Post--8-14-17

As you can see, things are definitely afoot. Or, rather, apaw.

I’ll be posting another teaser next week. Hope you enjoyed this one!

All the best,

~Melika

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A Tavern in Venice

01 Wednesday Mar 2017

Posted by Melika Dannese Lux in Excerpts, Fun Stuff, Missives, News, Updates

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1888, Authors, beast, beginning, best friend, betrayal, black beast, black winged beast, blood, blood drinkers, books, chronology, classic, classic novel, classic style, corcitura, dark fantasy, darkness, demon, demons, devils, Dracula, draculaesque, drainer of life, Eastern Europe, Eric Bradburry, euphemism, female author, female vampires, female werewolves, female writers, Friendship, give in, Goodreads, gothic, gothic novel, Grand Tour, Greece, hellish, historical, historical fiction, hybrid, hybrid vampires, imagination, Italian, Italy, life, living death, London, lux, melika, Melika Dannese Lux, Melika Lux, months, news, nightmare, nightmares, novel, old world, original, Paranormal, Paris, phrasing, plague, plague carrier, Romania, Romanian, Russia, russian vampires, russians, silver tongue, silver-tongued devil, social media, Stefan, Stefan Belododia, Stefan Ratliff, tavern, The Haunter of Darkness, Twitter, uninitiated, Upyr, vampires, Venice, Vladec Salei, Vrykolakas, Werewolf, werewolf transformation, werewolves, writer, writing, young author

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

I’ve been getting a lot of reader interest in Corcitura lately (Thank you!), and thought it was time to share a short excerpt. This scene comes from one of my favorite chapters in the whole book, and was actually one of the first scenes I wrote before being a good little author and writing the book in order from the beginning. Working chronologically…what a novel concept, eh? 😉

I hope you enjoy it!

Cheers,

~Melika

Short Excerpt

Taken from Corcitura, Chapter 8, A Tavern in Venice

    “A toast to you, my brother,” he said, lifting his glass. “May your eyes be opened on this night, and may you see as you have never seen before. Knowledge is a very powerful thing. Drink and be free.”
    Red light shot through the glass, red light reflected from the candle guttering in its holder above my head. My eyes darted up toward the ceiling. First impressions are tricky things, and mine had been wrong—horribly wrong. There were no angels in these panels. What had I been thinking before?
    Demons cavorted in a pit of rocks and shattered skulls. Fire licked their hellish bodies as they danced through one torture scene after another. In the center panel, a huge, black-winged beast devoured something that was still kicking as it was being forced down the devil’s gullet.
    How could it still be kicking? Or, more importantly, how could I see it kicking?
    The figures in the panel were moving.
    Their movements were slow, tortured, dreamlike, but real—undeniably real. I watched, entranced, unable to turn away, as one poor soul after another was raked across hot coals or had its ashen flesh stripped by one of the devil’s overseers.
    I put my hand to my mouth, but still my eyes remained riveted to the ceiling. The other panels did nothing to cure my nausea. Eleven horned beasts—looking like crosses between satyrs and devils—formed a circle around a giant creature, half dragon, half man, that held a severed head aloft in its clawed hands. Blood dripped from the stump, falling into the waiting mouths of some of the beasts, as the others caught the liquid in black chalices.
    The fresco was blatantly hellish, but its living replica was even worse.
    I had lied to myself from the very beginning, deceived myself into believing that I was being fanciful and overly imaginative. Surely such monstrosities only existed in nightmares? Yet I had lived through a nightmare these past months, and that was no dream at all.
    I was still fighting against the awful truth, not wanting to give in, searching my mind for a logical explanation—but there was none. And the most horrible realization of all was that I had known, somewhere deep inside, ever since the day I first set eyes on that silver-tongued devil in Paris.
    Plague carrier.
    Living death.
    Drainer of life.
    The phrasing did not matter. No euphemism could strike fear into the hearts of men the way that single word could.
    Vampire.
    And for me, the uninitiated, that single word meant death.

(c) 2010, 2012, 2017 by Melika Dannese Lux

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News & an Updated Author Page

17 Wednesday Aug 2016

Posted by Melika Dannese Lux in Fun Stuff, Missives, News, Updates

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1888, 1894, 2003, 2013, 2016, 2017, about, author, barbed tongue, best friends, bibliophile, blog, bloggers, books, Books In My Belfry, changes, City of Lights, city of lights: the trials and triumphs of ilyse charpentier, contact, corcitura, Count Sergei Rakmanovich, curious, dannese, dark fantasy, Eastern Europe, England, Eric Bradburry, exciting, Facebook, family saga, fantasy, female vampires, Fin de siècle, France, Friendship, Germany, Goodreads, gothic, gothic novel, Grand Tour, Greece, Greydanus, happenings, hiatus, historical fiction, hybrid vampires, Ian McCarthy, Ilyse Charpentier, inagural, Interview, Kindle, Leonora, Leonora Bianchetti, London, lux, Madelaine Bradburry, Madelaine Dennison, Manon Larue, Maurice Charpentier, melika, Melika Dannese Lux, Music, Mystery, Nadia Belododia, new series, news, novels, Prague, readers, readers of all ages, reading, redos, Romania, Sergei Rakmanovich, singers, Stefan Ratliff, supernatural, Twitter, updated, updates, Upyr, vampires, Venice, Vladec Salei, Vrykolakas, werewolf transformation, werewolves, writing, YA, Young Adult, young author, Zigmund Fertig

Hello!

Wow! Was the last time I posted really almost three years ago? I have a good reason for being away so long, actually, and, of course, it has to do with books!

I am happy to report that after almost 2 1/2 years of writing, my third book is nearly complete! I only have about four chapters left to finish the inaugural book in a series of four dark fantasy/mystery/supernatural/historical novels that serve as prequels to a fantasy trilogy I started writing back in 2003. I can’t wait to launch this first book in the series into the world! It is the best thing I’ve ever written. Can you tell I’m excited? 🙂

In other news, I updated my “About the Author” page to incorporate the changes in direction my writing has taken. I no longer write YA or NA novels, but now prefer to create stories that will appeal to everyone, regardless of their age or genre bracket. And as for Romance? I will have elements of it here and there in my novels, but it will no longer be anywhere near as plot-specific as it was in City of Lights. Regarding that book, and also Corcitura… In the coming months, there will be an exciting announcement about both of them and their radical new “looks.” And by looks, I’m not only talking about cover overhauls. Curious? Well, you will just have to sit tight until 2017 to find out what I’m hinting at. 😉 I can’t wait to share the news with you when the time is right, though!

As always, please feel free to contact me through this site. I love keeping in touch with my readers! 🙂

All the best,

Melika

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City of Lights is an IBD Award Winner!!

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Paperback Edition: $9.68 Kindle Edition: $3.33 Also available on other electronic devices (via free Kindle reading apps).

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