Frostbound: the Dark Forgotten

My paranormal series, the Dark Forgotten, was never planned in a linear fashion.  I had a solid concept of the storyverse, but as I’ve moved through the books I’ve shifted the focus from one household to another, a bit like a documentary filmmaker wandering around with a camera.  In other words, I’ve never really set out to “build” a world, but just naturally observe one that happened to have paranormal elements. I guess that’s just the way my imagination works.

I began the journey with Holly Carver, the heroine of Ravenous, who was a fairly ordinary young witch with a whole lot of courage–and adventures! Then I picked up the story of Mac the cop and moved into the Castle prison for Scorched. After that it was over to the public library for Unchained to meet Holly’s sister, Ashe. I’ve never tried to force the storyline, but followed where it led, a bit like a conversation.

As a result, we see the story world and its ongoing characters from different points of view. The two sisters have very different outlooks. Reynard, the prison guard alive since the eighteenth century, has quite another take on things. While each story stands alone, it’s my hope that the reader, as he or she works through the books, gets a complete picture of the neighbourhood and its people.

When I went to write Lore’s story in Frostbound, it required a very different perspective. He’s the Alpha hellhound who led his people in a daring escape from the Castle prison. There, they had been slaves for generations. Now he’s trying to bring what is essentially an impoverished, backward community into the modern day.

So, I had to take my documentary camera into the supernatural neighbourhoods of my storyverse. These aren’t exactly the mean streets, but a human wouldn’t want to walk there alone. It’s a new setting for the Dark Forgotten, filled with inter-pack politics, crime, and the tension between Lore’s people and the prosperous humans who despise them.  They won’t even let the hellhound children attend public school.

We also see the first election where a supernatural citizen is standing for office. That brings every nutcase going into town, including a trio of ancient rogue vampires. Of course, this all happens while Lore’s filling in as sheriff of the entire supernatural community. Whatever can go wrong, does.

Then, just to keep things interesting, his human neighbour is beheaded. The main suspect is the victim’s cousin, a beautiful vampire on the run named Talia Rostova. It’s Lore’s job to figure out if she’s the villain or another victim. Before long, it becomes clear that it would be easier to count the people NOT out to skin Talia alive. He takes her prisoner, mostly to keep her safe from the human justice system and a too-smart detective on her trail.

Lore will decide later if he wants to strangle her more than he wants to kiss her. Both options are tempting. She brings out every Alpha instinct to guard and protect his woman, but hellhounds only mate with hellhounds. The two are hovering on a line they dare not cross. For Lore, it’s a slippery slope from sympathy to betraying his pack, and he feels the weight of his responsibility keenly.

Poor guy. It’s hard to focus with a gorgeous vampiress handcuffed to his bed … and at the moment he’s feeling like a very, very bad dog.

Read an excerpt.

Watch the trailer for Frostbound

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