Darkness
Brutal
The
Dark Cycle
Book
One
Rachel
A. Marks
Genre:
YA Urban Fantasy
Publisher:
Skyscape
Date
of Publication: July 1st, 2015
ISBN:
978-1477830796
ASIN:
B00S6Z3S82
Number
of pages: 422
Word
Count: 120,000
Cover
Artist: Cliff Neilson
Book
Description:
Aidan
O’Linn’s childhood ended the night he saw a demon kill his mother
and mark his sister, Ava, with Darkness. Since then, every three
years the demons have returned to try to claim her. Living in the
gritty, forgotten corners of Los Angeles, Aidan has managed to
protect his sister, but he knows that even his powers to fight demons
and speak dead languages won’t keep her safe for much longer.
In
desperation, Aidan seeks out the help of Sid, the enigmatic leader of
a group of teens who run LA Paranormal, an Internet reality show that
fights demons and ghosts. In their company, Aidan believes he’s
finally found a haven for Ava. But when he meets Kara, a broken girl
who can spin a hypnotic web of passionate energy, he awakens powers
he didn’t know he had―and unleashes a new era of war between the
forces of Light and the forces of Darkness.
With
the fate of humanity in his hands, can Aidan keep the Darkness at bay
and accept his brilliant, terrifying destiny?
Excerpt:
I
let the pulse of the music coat me and mute my surroundings. A mass
of people crowd the dance floor of the club, and I sit on an
abandoned couch in the corner. The lights beat at the air in blues
and greens, and bodies twist and merge to the thunder. I lean back,
close my eyes, and try to get lost in it, the smells and sounds of
people and their collective high.
Something
moves next to me. I look over to find a girl sprawled on the seat
beside me, trying to catch her breath. She’s not dressed in the
usual club gear, more like a girl who got lost on her way to a beach
party: Hurley T-shirt, jean skirt, and red Converse. Her cheeks are
flushed pink; her throat and forehead glitter with sweat. She glances
at me like she didn’t know I was there. She licks her upper lip,
her eyes not leaving mine. Then she says something I can’t hear.
I
point to my ear and shake my head.
She
smiles and laughs, lighting up the space around her. She rests her
hand on my arm, like we’re friends and I just told her the most
hilarious joke, and then she gets up and disappears into the mass of
bodies again.
My
arm tingles, my body reacting to the moment of contact in a sudden
and disconcerting way. I think I’ve had my fill of watching people
indulge their baser instincts. I need to get out of here.
The
beat of the music speeds up, vibrating faster as I move through the
crowd. I try not to touch anyone, which is nearly impossible. All the
emotions and appetites are overwhelming, as if the rising rhythm of
the music makes their yearnings rise, too. Lust buzzes in the air. A
hunger stirs in me, a gaping hole, needing to be filled. With touch.
The
touch of female fingers. A hand on my arm, taking my wrist, pulling
me into the fray, into the pressing bodies. And I don’t try to
escape. I let her take me.
Because
I’m tired.
Because
I’m a dumbass.
A
girl moves in front of me—not the Hurley girl, not the one I was
hoping for. She presses closer, so close I can almost taste the salty
perspiration on her skin. She has thin, birdlike shoulders, a swan
neck, a heart-shaped face, and black hair, long and tangled, turning
blue and green with the light. Her hands slide up my chest. She wraps
her arms around my neck and tilts her head to look up at me.
Her
lips are full and painted dark purple. There’s a dimple in her left
cheek that gets deeper with her growing smile. And her eyes . . .
Fog
fills my head for a second, interrupting my thoughts.
“Hi,”
she mouths, calling attention to her lips again.
And
then she’s rising up on her toes, pulling me down to her, twisting
her fingers in my hair, her lips smashing against mine.
My
body buzzes from her touch, and my hands react, drawing her into me.
I drink her in. She tastes like the air around me, hunger and
urgency, and—
Green
apple Jolly Ranchers?
I
grip her sides, her ribs so delicate beneath my fingers. The sweet
tang of her teases me, the hunger becoming a monster deep inside. I
have to press her closer, tighter, try to feed it, as I feel the fire
of her need link with mine.
She
pulls back a little and looks at me with wide eyes, like she’s
shocked. That’s when I see the mark, a glowing, blue-inked line of
what looks like Chinese symbols, trailing down the nape of her neck
to her shoulder blade. Symbols that I’m suddenly sure mean: touch
this girl at your own risk.
It’s
the only thing I see for a second: Beware. Beware.
Until
her energy reaches for me, wispy tendrils of blue light wrapping
their way around my wrists and snaking up my chest.
I
jerk away, into the guy behind me, stepping on his girlfriend’s
toes. I get shoved— thankfully farther from the hypnotic
girl—through a space in the crowd, saying a hundred excuse-me’s
even though I know no one can hear them. I find my way out of the
press of bodies to the edge of the room again where it’s safe.
It’s
time to leave. I should’ve left an hour ago.
Darkness
Fair
The
Dark Cycle
Book
Two
Rachel
A. Marks
Genre:
YA Urban Fantasy
Publisher:
Skyscape
Date
of Publication: 2/1/16
ISBN:
978-1503950290
ASIN:
B00YDJKE00
Number
of pages: 335
Cover
Artist: Cliff Neilson
Book
Description:
Against
the backdrop of an ancient battle between the forces of Light and the
forces of Darkness, Aidan struggles to control the newly awakened
powers that seem to be his only hope for rescuing Ava, his little
sister, trapped somewhere beyond the Veil. As he gravitates to Kara,
the beguiling and dangerously unstable girl who helped him realize
his abilities, a terrible mistake of fate is revealed that points him
back toward Rebecca, whose role is becoming more critical to the
battle. And no matter what his heart wants, it might be too late to
stop the pieces already in motion.
Without
knowing the sacrifices that will be required of them, Aidan and his
motley crew of friends—each with their own role to play—must face
the demon threat head-on. They’re the only ones keeping the growing
army of Darkness at bay, and if they fail, the future of humanity
could be lost.
About
the Author:
Rachel
A. Marks is an award-winning author and professional artist, a SoCal
girl, cancer survivor, a surfer and dirt-bike rider, chocolate lover
and keeper of faerie secrets. She was voted: Most Likely to Survive
the Zombie Apocalypse, but hopes she'll never have to test the
theory. Her debut series The Dark Cycle, described as Dickens' Oliver
Twist meets TV's Supernatural, is now out through Skyscape, beginning
with DARKNESS BRUTAL.
Website:
http://www.rachelannemarks.com/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/RachelAnneMarks
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/rachelannemarks
Interview
Where are you
from? I'm a proud SoCal native, born in
Los Angeles, California. I've lived hear all my life and I can't imagine living
anywhere else.
Tell us your
latest news? Something fun about to
happen is the upcoming release of the third book in The Dark Cycle
series, DARKNESS SAVAGE. I'm super excited to see how readers react to the
grand finale of Aidan's crazy story.
When and why did
you begin writing? I began my writing
journey as a lover (read: obsessed human) of books, and a girl with an
extremely vivid imagination. I made up creatures and stories since I can
remember. But I didn't start to write them down until high school.
Unfortunately my breed of entertainment didn't sit well with my very
conservative private school teachers and a lot of discouragement was sent my
way. Which made me think I just wasn't any good at writing. So, I stopped
creating and just read. It was as an adult with four tiny kids that I suddenly
wanted to try again. I realized that I had something to say. And I haven't
stopped spilling out words since.
When did you first
consider yourself a writer? I think the
realization came after I started my second novel. It dawned on me that I
wouldn't be able to stop writing at that point. There were just too many
stories/characters inside me. Published or not, I wanted to give them life in
some form or another.
What inspired you
to write your first book? My first book
was inspired by the teens in the youth group my husband and I had begun
pasturing. A lot of the teens were avid readers and I saw the joy they were
finding in the stories and I decided I wanted to write a story my teen self
would have loved. Nothing ever came of that novel over the twelve years I kept
writing, until recently—I've re-imagined the world a little and am currently
rewriting it. Which is a lesson on how nothing is a waste, really.
Do you have a
specific writing style? I think my
style could be seen as gritty and visual. I'm an artist so how I write is bent
in the tactile direction.
How did you come
up with the title? The title for Darkness Brutal
as well as Darkness Fair came to me from the poem that inspired the story.
"Darkness brutal,
darkness fair...at last payment for my sin."
The poem came to me as I imagined a girl mired in guilt over a horrible thing
she'd done. From that came my vision of the main character—Aidan's—mother.
She's the first one I saw when the story came to me.
Is there a message
in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
If there is a message in my books—and truthfully, I try to just write character
and let the reality of our humanity speak for itself—but if there is a message,
I think it's that you, as a member of this creation, are valuable, whatever
you've been through, whatever you've done.
How much of the book
is realistic? The cool thing about
setting a fantasy story in modern day places is that I could use local legends
and mythos. I took most of my "hauntings" from true accounts I'd
read. Also, I think I can say that I did pull from my own experiences with the
supernatural as a child, as well. I've always been a very spiritual person and
these books were a very fun (though, sometimes terrifying) way to explore those
things.
What books have
influenced your life the most? Oh, there've
been so many! I feel like books were my friends for so long, and really, they
shape so much of my history because I hid in them and lived through them.
Stephen King's IT set a spark in my writer brain as a teen. I loved obscure
poetry and classics like Lady In
White or Phantom
of the Opera. Anne Rice's Interview With A Vampire, was a huge favorite of mine all through high
school and I read Ken Follett's Pillars
of the Earth twice in tenth grade,
as well as Robert McCammon's Swan Song—OMG, that book is amazing (I actually read it five
times). The Giver by Lois Lowry became the book to spark my urge to
write as an adult. I wanted so badly to make readers discover and feel the way
she did to me.
If you had to
choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
I'm actually very blessed to have had several amazing face-to-face mentors on
the road to my publishing journey. James Scott Bell has been very encouraging
and inspiring to me, Randy Ingermanson (King of The Snowflake Method) was also
a great teacher in my early years learning to write. And Orson Scott Card, and
his guidance and wisdom, has also been a huge beacon along the way.
What book are you
reading now? Umm...at this moment,
I'm reading a book called Dawn of
Wonder by Jonathan Renshaw.
He's a new self published author and the book is really amazing so far! The
writing is superb!
What are your
current projects? At the moment I'm
actually working on a high fantasy, called THE RAVEN CALLS. It's going to be
dark and intricate, with a very large twist of fate, and I really can't wait to
see if it's any good! ;) It's so much fun to write so far! You can see a Pinterest
board here: https://www.pinterest.com/rachelannemarks/the-raven-calls-book-one-of-the-bone-tree-saga/
Tour giveaway $20 Amazon giftcard and chosen paperback or audio in the series
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Sounds like a great read.
ReplyDeleteThank you for telling me about this book.
ReplyDeleteI love this series!! Just look at those covers!!! :-)
ReplyDeleteAll of these covers are gorgeous! MUST. HAVE. NOW!
ReplyDelete