Dying
Light
Jesse
Sullivan
Book
Four
Kory
M. Shrum
Genre: Contemporary/Urban/Dark
Fantasy
Publisher: Timberlane Press
Date of Publication: November 2nd
ISBN: 0-9912158-9-3
ASIN: B014GMBV28
Number of pages: 220 Kindle/ebook
Number of pages: 465 paperback
Word Count: 79,000
Cover Artist: John K. Addis
Book Description:
In the wake of her handler’s
death, Jesse has never felt more alone. Her best friend is distracted by a new
love. Her mentor Rachel is missing and her boyfriend Lane isn’t returning her
calls.
Worse, a Necronite with the
ability to heal any wound wants to kill Jesse and absorb her power of
pyrokinesis.
With little to hold her to
Nashville, Jesse agrees to work as a freelance agent for Jeremiah Tate, a
pharmaceutical tycoon in Chicago. Together they plot revenge against Caldwell,
the mastermind responsible for the genocide of over 100,000 Necronites
worldwide.
When Jeremiah fails to dominate
Jesse and her pyrokinesis, tensions escalate, dividing her from her allies.
Then Caldwell gives Jesse an
ultimatum she cannot refuse.
"Kory
Shrum's writing is smart, imaginative, and insanely addictive!
I
have begun to think of her books as my Kory Krack.
I
beg of you to pick them up. You will NOT regret it!"
-Darynda
Jones, NY Times Bestselling Author of the Charley Davidson Series
Excerpt:
Chapter 1
“Come on,” I wail. “Jumping out of a burning
building is not the craziest thing we’ve ever done!”
“If you hadn’t
panicked, the building wouldn’t be on fire,” Ally snaps back. She tucks the
bundled laptop under her arm and starts yanking open desk drawers. Post-it
notes of every color fly through the air, followed by pens, a stapler, paperclips
and a Kleenex box.
I search the
open office space for another door. Nada. Only one way in and out.
“I had to do
something.” I thought firebombing the bad guy was my one good idea on this
mission to retrieve a laptop for Jeremiah. “If I hadn’t, we’d still be stuck
with him.”
We both turn our
gaze to the locked door twenty feet away. A row of unoccupied desks rests
between us and where we entered. The office is spacious, with rows of silver
tabletops running the length of the room. Spacious—but not spacious enough with
a homicidal maniac just on the other side of the door.
Something large
slams into the locked office door, rattling the walls. Ominous black smoke
seeps through the cracks and the smell of campfire wafts in. That smell is
surely going to cling to my hair until I wash it.
“Just because
we’ve been reckless before doesn’t excuse it now.” Ally slams a desk drawer
shut and yanks another open. Her disheveled blonde hair hides most of her face,
revealing only terrified eyes. She gives up trying to find a weapon in the desk
drawer and hurries to the window. Her gaze falls on the street below. “God,
Jesse. No. We’ll never survive a fall from this height.”
I shrug and
pucker my lips. “It’s fine. I’ve fallen from higher. We’ll be fine.”
She blinks at me.
“You’re
forgetting about my shield thingy.” I’m talking out of my ass here, but there
is no way I’m letting him come in here and hurt her. He can trade punches with
me all day if he wants, but not with Ally. I’ll have to find a way to break the
window, jump out, and shield her on the way down.
The door shakes
for the fourth time and a thick crack appears to the left of the jamb. A
thicker plume of black smoke rolls through the crack and floats to the ceiling.
The white popcorn tiles disappear beneath the black fog.
I go to the
window and look through the glass beside her. The glass is cold under my palms
and my breath fogs on the surface despite the growing heat of the room. Down
below, tiny cars cut corners around buildings. One could easily be mistaken for
a child’s toy.
Shit, it really
is far down.
About
the Author:
Kory M. Shrum lives in Michigan
with her partner and a ferocious guard pug. She has dabbled in everything from
fortune telling to martial arts and when not reading or writing, she can be
found teaching, traveling, or wearing a gi. She is the author of four books in
the Jesse Sullivan contemporary fantasy series. She is also an active member of
both SFWA and HWA.
Interview
Where are you from? I’m from Tennessee, but I
currently live in East Lansing, Michigan. Talk about a temperature shift!
Tell us your latest news?
I just got engaged! Woo! :D
I just got engaged! Woo! :D
When and why did you begin writing?
I used to tell people that I started writing emo poetry in very private journals in high school as a way to vent all the feels. However, it turns out I started writing earlier than that. My cousin unearthed a poem I wrote when I was about ten. So it looks like I’ve been writing forever—probably also because of all the feels.
I used to tell people that I started writing emo poetry in very private journals in high school as a way to vent all the feels. However, it turns out I started writing earlier than that. My cousin unearthed a poem I wrote when I was about ten. So it looks like I’ve been writing forever—probably also because of all the feels.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
When I changed my major to creative writing, (about age 20), poverty be damned!
When I changed my major to creative writing, (about age 20), poverty be damned!
What inspired you to write your first book?
A delirious hike up a mountainside in Italy. No really! If you’re not into mind-altering drugs, might I suggest an oxygen-deprived climb? It works just as well for knocking those ideas loose.
A delirious hike up a mountainside in Italy. No really! If you’re not into mind-altering drugs, might I suggest an oxygen-deprived climb? It works just as well for knocking those ideas loose.
Do you have a specific writing style?
Uh, snarky? Is snarky a style?
Uh, snarky? Is snarky a style?
How did you come up with the title?
Dying Light is the latest in the Jesse Sullivan series. All the books so far have had the word ‘dying’ in it. If I don’t keep this series short we’re going to start getting “Dying for a cookie” or “Touch that and you’ll be a dying” as titles….
Dying Light is the latest in the Jesse Sullivan series. All the books so far have had the word ‘dying’ in it. If I don’t keep this series short we’re going to start getting “Dying for a cookie” or “Touch that and you’ll be a dying” as titles….
Is there a message in your novel that you want
readers to grasp?
Never give up.
Never give up.
How much of the book is realistic?
For a book based on a girl who dies over and over again for a paycheck—surprisingly, quite a bit.
For a book based on a girl who dies over and over again for a paycheck—surprisingly, quite a bit.
Are experiences based on someone you know, or events
in your own life?
Yes, but I won’t say which ones. That’ll give it all away!
Yes, but I won’t say which ones. That’ll give it all away!
What books have most influenced your life most?
All of Anne Rice’s vampire chronicles. Nancy A. Collin’s Sonja Blue books and all things Stephen King.
All of Anne Rice’s vampire chronicles. Nancy A. Collin’s Sonja Blue books and all things Stephen King.
If you had to choose, which writer would you
consider a mentor?
Probably Stephen King. Though god help me if he started talking about baseball.
Probably Stephen King. Though god help me if he started talking about baseball.
What book are you reading now?
Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch and I’m listening to Wuthering Heights on audiobook
Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch and I’m listening to Wuthering Heights on audiobook
Are there any new authors that have grasped your
interest?
Raasch is relatively new and I like Snow Like Ashes. I also like Angela Roquet, author of the Lana Harvey Reapers Inc series.
Raasch is relatively new and I like Snow Like Ashes. I also like Angela Roquet, author of the Lana Harvey Reapers Inc series.
What are your current projects?
I’m finishing up the 5th Jesse Sullivan novel Worth Dying For, some ekphrastic poetry (poems about art), and a YA novel about a girl who is a disfigured badass.
I’m finishing up the 5th Jesse Sullivan novel Worth Dying For, some ekphrastic poetry (poems about art), and a YA novel about a girl who is a disfigured badass.
Tour
giveaway
3 audiobooks (as audible codes;
no audible subscription necessary
A signed boxset (Books 1-4) in
paperback (International)
Books 1-4 ebook set Jesse
Sullivan Novels
Thank you! :)
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