Catching Up With Kylie Griffin

The Reading Cafe is happy to welcome back Kylie Griffin. Kylie recently released her third book in her The Light Blade series. She is here to discuss Allegiance Sworn, as well as what else we may have to look forward to in 2013

Before we start the interview, let’s refresh your memory about Kylie.

Kylie Griffin’s obsession with all things paranormal/fantasy started at an early age, when she used to imagine the jacaranda tree in her front yard was a spaceship used to defend the world from invading enemies. Writing stories seemed a natural extension to her childhood adventures.

Today, she’s a primary school teacher sharing her love for the written word with young children. In her spare time, she writes and reads all things paranormal.     

Kylie lives in a small rural village in outback New South Wales, Australia, where she volunteers in a number of emergency service organizations in her local community. Visit her website at www.kyliegriffin.com

TRC:  Hi, Kylie.  Thank you for taking the time to revisit us at The Reading Cafe to discuss your new release “Allegiance Sworn”, as well as to give us an update as to what else you may be working on.

Kylie: Hi Barb, thanks for the chance to meet your readers again. I loved visiting The Reading Cafe last time, so it’s great to be back!

TRC: You have just released the 3rd book in your Light Blade series.  For our members who may not have read this series, can you give us a description of the premise of this series? 

Kylie: Without giving away any spoilers, in the Light Blade world there are three different races – the Na’Reish (demons), Na’Chi (hybrid half-breeds, and humans. The Na’Reish outnumber the humans, and the human race is under threat of enslavement. Both races loath the existence of the Na’Chi as neither can tolerate their mixed heritage.

Each story in the series so far has shown the struggle between the races to survive, and a myriad of secrets and power struggles have thrown characters together and driven others apart. All the while demons and humans have been pushed closer to war with one another.

While the series isn’t epic fantasy in its purest form, it does have similar elements. The overarching plots employ typical themes such as a quest, a guiding deity, struggles against an opposing force, the threat of world domination, revenge and redemption, but readers also get to focus on a romance between main characters.

So if readers like this sort of epic-style story with a good romance then the Light Blade series is one to try. There’s enough back sotry in ALLEGIANCE SWORN to get the gist of the series arc, and each book can be read as stand-alone romances, but I’d recommend reading them in sequence for the full impact.


TRC: Allegiance Sworn was released on April 2, 2013.  Can you please tell us briefly about the book?

Kylie: ALLEGIANCE SWORN is the third book in the Light Blade series and one I was very excited to write as it features Arek, a rather deliciously tormented (yes, I do like torturing my heroes), secondary character, and one of my Light Blade warriors, who appeared in both VENGEANCE BORN (#1) and ALLIANCE FORGED (#2).

Links to order Allegiance Sworn:
Amazon / Barnes&Noble / The Book Depository / Kobo

Click pictures to link to reviews of each book.

Links to purchase:
Vengeance Born:  Amazon / Barnes & Noble / The Book Depository / Kobo
Alliance Forged: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / The Book Depository / Kobo

At the end of ALLIANCE FORGED Arek was wounded and captured by demon-slavers. In ALLEGIANCE SWORN he’s claimed by Imhara, a demon Clan leader.

He’s sworn to die fighting before allowing her to enslave him but then discovers she’s been living a double-life; that her Clan don’t enslave humans and accept half-bloods. And more significantly, they have one goal in common – to kill Na’Reish leader Savyr, the demon who murdered their families and destroyed their lives.

I had a LOT of fun making Arek face his greatest fears in this book but what surprised me the most was the way a couple of plot threads within the story ended – I intended the story to finish with the characters achieving certain goals but they refused to take that path and led me down another!

Lives being threatened, fighting, the death of a major character – all of this was supposed to occur, and it did, but not in the manner I expected and it brought about an entirely different conclusion to the story.

TRC: Will there be more books for the Light Blade series, if so, how many?

Kylie: Well, at this stage there are at least three secondary characters with stories demanding to be told. For example, Rissa, a young child introduced in VENGEANCE BORN, and is a character who definitely has a story to be written but as she’s only 10y.o, she has to grow up first. LOL

So it’s lucky there are some other secondary characters clamoring for their stories to be told in the meantime. They’ll keep me busy for a while yet, and give Rissa the time to grow up.

TRC: Would you like to share with us what you are currently working on?

Kylie: What am I up to, besides a manic blog tour to promote ALLEGIANCE SWORN(and the mass market version of Vengeance Born, which was also released on April 2nd)?

Well, I have a few plans I’m juggling. I’m writing books #4 and #5 in the Light Blade series. There’s no release dates yet for them as that depends on whether the book-gods smile on a new publishing contract.

For those who’ve been following the series, books #4 & #5 are characters you’ve met earlier in the series, or will have, once you’ve read ALLEGIANCE SWORN. 🙂

I’m also keen to write a new post-apocalyptic romance, one that’s been mulling in the back my mind for a few years now. A change of genre would be refreshing and I’m quite excited about this one as I’m venturing into new territory. It’s rather more erotic in tone than I anticipated.

TRC: Would you like to add anything else?

Kylie: Two ideas inspired ALLEGIANCE SWORN.

The first was Arek, the hero, and his hatred for all things demon. Throughout the series and of all the characters he’s probably had the toughest time. He’s found out he has a demon half sister. His grandfather not only tried to kill her but he kept the secret that demons and humans once lived harmoniously together and then betrayed the human race by leading a rebellion to keep the war between them going.

In ALLEGIANCE SWORN Arek is confronted by the truth that his whole life and every decision and action he’s made has been based on a lie, one foster by his grandfather’s deception.

And, having been captured by demon-slavers at the end of Alliance Forged, he now faces one of his greatest fears – being the blood-slave of Imhara Kaal, his new owner. Anyone who’s already read the series will know Arek prefers death over serving as a blood-slave, so you can imagine the conflict this is going to create!

The idea of a double agent gave me the plot thread for Imhara Kaal, the heroine, in ALLEGIANCE SWORN. Unlike other demons, Imhara and her people have create a utopia of sorts where human, demon, and half breeds live peacefully and equally in the Old Ways but they’ve had to sacrifice a lot to remain undiscovered. Living a double-life and adopting two separate lifestyles was essential for their survival.

But it puts Imhara and Arek at odds right from the get go because she had to portray her alter-ego in order to claim him as her slave. You can image how well that went down with Arek, and trying to convince him of her other persona is nigh impossible.

I loved being able to throw these two opposing personalities together and watching the sparks fly!

TRC: Thank you, Kylie for giving us an update on Allegiance Sworn, as well as what we can look forward to in the future.   It was a pleasure having you visit us again. 

Kylie: Barb, it’s been a pleasure catching up with you and I look forward to chatting with your readers!

If you want to learn more about Kylie, you can find her at the following links:

Website: http://www.kyliegriffin.com
Blog: www.kyliegriffinromance.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kylie-Griffin-paranormal-romance/152760788151938
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/KylieGriffin1
GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4882841.Kylie_Griffin

Kylie has graciously offered to give one member of The Reading Café a prize pack of a signed copy of Vengeance Born (paperback just released April 2nd), as well as an Allegiance Sworn Tote Bag,

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3.  Please post a comment answering the following question:
    What’s your favorite paranormal/sci-fi/fantasy movie, and why?

4.  Giveaway open INTERNATIONALLY

5.  Contests runs from April 26 to April 30, 2013