Steve McHugh will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
BLURB:
Over a hundred years have passed since a group of violent killers went on the rampage, murdering innocent victims for fun. But even back then, sorcerer Nate Garrett, aka Hellequin, knew there was more to it than simple savage pleasure—souls were being stolen.
Nate’s discovery of the souls’ use, and of those supporting the group’s plan, made him question everything he believed.
Now the group Nate thought long dead is back. Violent, angry, and hell-bent on revenge, they have Hellequin firmly in their sights. And if he won’t come willingly, they’ll take those closest to him first.
The battle begins again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt One:
I walked over to the second agent, whose back was toward me as he stood a little further into the park, and placed my hand on his shoulder. “That’s enough,” I repeated, but he spun around and all of the breath left my body at once, followed immediately by pain as it exploded across my torso. I glanced down as a shimmering blade of ice was pulled free from my chest. It was covered in my blood. I dropped to my knees and watched as the magical weapon vanished from view. The pain forced me to abandon my night vision, and the darkness once again took control.
The overwhelming thought that bounced around my head was that neither of the SOA agents had been sorcerers. My attacker crouched beside me. “They interrupted me and my prey got away,” his accent was from East London, but sounded slightly different from many of those living in the city. As if he’d been away from here for a long time, and had not quite remembered how the accent was meant to sound.
I glanced up at him, still unable to breathe; the blade had punctured a lung. It wouldn’t kill me, but it would be a few hours until I was back to normal, and without my night vision I could have been staring into Merlin’s own face and I’d never have known.
The man got back to his feet and kicked me onto my back. “I should make sure you remember your time here, but I’m sure your comrades over there will be able to do that better than I could.”
Over a hundred years have passed since a group of violent killers went on the rampage, murdering innocent victims for fun. But even back then, sorcerer Nate Garrett, aka Hellequin, knew there was more to it than simple savage pleasure—souls were being stolen.
Nate’s discovery of the souls’ use, and of those supporting the group’s plan, made him question everything he believed.
Now the group Nate thought long dead is back. Violent, angry, and hell-bent on revenge, they have Hellequin firmly in their sights. And if he won’t come willingly, they’ll take those closest to him first.
The battle begins again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt One:
I walked over to the second agent, whose back was toward me as he stood a little further into the park, and placed my hand on his shoulder. “That’s enough,” I repeated, but he spun around and all of the breath left my body at once, followed immediately by pain as it exploded across my torso. I glanced down as a shimmering blade of ice was pulled free from my chest. It was covered in my blood. I dropped to my knees and watched as the magical weapon vanished from view. The pain forced me to abandon my night vision, and the darkness once again took control.
The overwhelming thought that bounced around my head was that neither of the SOA agents had been sorcerers. My attacker crouched beside me. “They interrupted me and my prey got away,” his accent was from East London, but sounded slightly different from many of those living in the city. As if he’d been away from here for a long time, and had not quite remembered how the accent was meant to sound.
I glanced up at him, still unable to breathe; the blade had punctured a lung. It wouldn’t kill me, but it would be a few hours until I was back to normal, and without my night vision I could have been staring into Merlin’s own face and I’d never have known.
The man got back to his feet and kicked me onto my back. “I should make sure you remember your time here, but I’m sure your comrades over there will be able to do that better than I could.”
Tell us about yourself:
I’m Steve McHugh. I was born in a small village in South Yorkshire, but live in the Southampton now, with my wife and three daughters.
I’m 36 and have been published for three and a half years.
I share my office with my bearded dragon, Kaiju, and the family is about to become one bigger as we’re going to be getting a dog.
What was your first book?
My first book was Crimes Against Magic, a book I self published. The first in the Hellequin Chronicles, a series I’m still writing. That was in April 2012.
Describe your first break.
I guess that was when after a year, my current publisher, 47North contacted me and asked if I’d like to worth with them on future books. Since then the books have gone from strength to strength.
What is your favorite genre to read? To write?
I’ll read most anything, but Fantasy and Sci-fi are the ones I enjoy the most. Same to write too. There’s something about world-building I just really enjoy.
Are Happy Endings are must in your stories?
Nope. I’d rather have a satisfying ending than a happy one. That’s not to say all the endings are miserable and depressing, but they’re not usually everyone having a party and celebrating how awesome they are either.
What makes a protagonist interesting?
Lots of things make someone interesting to read about. I think writing characters that people find entertaining, that they see something of themselves in them (or something they wish they had in themselves) is a good way to capture someone’s imagination. Nate Garrett (the hero in my books) is not exactly the whiter-than-white good-guy. He’s capable of horrific acts if he thinks they’re the lesser of evils open to him. I think people like that in a hero.
What is the best thing about being a writer?
Writing. Having a story in my head come alive on the page in front of me. Having people tell me how much they loved something, how it made they laugh or cry. Those things never get old.
What is the worst thing?
The long, lonely hours sat in my office. Even after you’ve finished your story, there’s the editing and more editing, and some more editing. It can mean you forget there’s a world outside.
Pantser or plotter?
In the middle. I tend to plot out the whole story, but let each chapter take me where it may. It’s more fun that way.
What do you see the direction of your future writing taking? What can we expect next? Give us a little taste.
Well I’ve got more Hellequin stories to tell, so that’s what’s probably next. I’ve written a sci-fi book, so we’ll see if that gets anywhere, and I’m hoping to have a few more things to tell people in upcoming months.
Just for fun
Cat or dog person?
Dogs by miles.
Favorite food?
Yorkshire Pudding. Love the stuff.
Favorite book?
It changes daily. Today is probably Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett.
Favorite movie?
I have no idea. That changes daily too. Maybe the LOTR trilogy.
Favorite holiday?
Halloween. Always loved it.
Would you rather be the princess or the villain? Why?
The Villain. I would make a truly awful princess.
Who has more fun, orcs or hobbits?
Hobbits. They seem to spend their entire lives, drunk, stoned and full of food. Doesn’t exactly sound awful.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Steve’s been writing from an early age, his first completed story was done in an English lesson. Unfortunately, after the teacher read it, he had to have a chat with the head of the year about the violent content and bad language. The follow up ‘One boy and his frog’ was less concerning to his teachers and got him an A.
It wasn’t for another decade that he would start work on a full-length novel that was publishable, the results of which was the action-packed Urban Fantasy, Crimes Against Magic.
Steve McHugh lives in Southampton on the south coast of England with his wife and three young daughters. When not writing or spending time with his kids, he enjoys watching movies, reading books and comics, and playing video games.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hellequinchronicles
Twitter: https://twitter.com/StevejMchugh
Website: http://stevejmchugh.wordpress.com/
BUY LINKS: http://www.amazon.com/Lies-Ripped-Open-Hellequin-Chronicles/dp/1503946401/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1438180555&sr=8-1&keywords=Steve+McHugh
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lies-ripped-open-steve-mchugh/1121648543?ean=9781503946408
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