There’s now only 3 weeks to go until you can get your hands on Blood Deep! I thought you might like a look at Bookouture’s official press release of the book, just so you can get a sneaky peek of what to expect…
Pre-orders are available on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com now! Pre-ordering will also be available on iBookstore, Kobo and Barnes & Noble in due course. Pre-orders are for eBooks only. Paperbacks will need to be ordered on the official release day.
Don’t forget, one lucky reader is going to have Blood Deep in their hands THIS weekend. It’s not too late to enter via here or the relevant post on my Facebook page. You still have until midnight (UK time). I’ll announce the winner tomorrow. 🙂
I am very, very exited to be able to introduce you to Eden and Jessie – my hero and heroine of Blood Deep! Bookouture have done me proud again. 😀
There’s now just over three weeks to go until its release!! Don’t forget, you still have time to enter to win a copy of the eBook – either via here or my Facebook page. Thank you to everyone who has entered so far, and for the stunning comments that are being left about how much you’re enjoying Blackthorn. xxx
Firstly… I can confirm that Bookouture will most definitely be signing more books in my Blackthorn series! I’ll have more news as to how many and when after Blood Deep‘s release.
Secondly… we have the cover reveal for Blood Deep coming THIS WEEK! I hope you’re ready to meet Eden and Jessie.
Thirdly… at the end of yesterday’s post, I mentioned that ONE lucky reader will be in with a chance of winning an early eBook of Blood Deep (suitable for all devices).
If you’d like to be in with a chance of being the ONE lucky reader to have Blood Deep in your hands this weekend, all you have to do is leave a comment either on this post or where I’ve opened the competition on my Facebook page. Tell me how excited you are about Blood Deep, who your favourite character is so far, or why you like Blackthorn so much. Things are already well and truly underway over there, so do come along and join in if you can!
The competition closes at midnight (UK time) on Friday. All entries (one each) will be given a number which will be randomly selected on Saturday. I’ll announce the winner then.
If you’re a regular here, you’ll know that every now and again I share snippets about Blackthorn’s creation. I’ve written several posts in the past about my worldbuilding, including giving insight into some of my research and reasoning that went into it over the years.
However, I’ve not as yet written a post about why I decided ‘Blackthorn’ was the most suitable name for the series – so I thought it was about time I did.
BLACKTHORN: THE IDEAL BARRIER
Found throughout the British Isles, Blackthorn tends to dwell on the edge of woodlands. Although a tree, it is more like a large shrub and so forms excellent thickets and hedgerows.
As its name implies, the Blackthorn is an extremely thorny tree. Dark, almost black in colour, it consists of dense branches and twigs laden with thorns that twist and span out in all directions. Because of its subsequent impenetrability, it was frequently used by the Celts to form a barrier against intruders.
Linked to the rose family (yes, Blood Roses is titled as such for a very good reason), its dark purple berries are used to create a red, blood-like dye. It is also rumoured to have a blood-like sap within its dark skeleton.
FOLKLORE AND MEANING
I don’t know about you, but I love a bit of mythology! The Blackthorn was once seen as a guardian of the balance between light and darkness, particularly as it was thought to be one of the trees that crosses the barrier between this world and the paranormal. Originally, this was not in a bad way. However, with the introduction of dualistic religions (those that divide the world into ‘good’ and ‘evil’), the Blackthorn took on more negative connotations. The Blackthorn is certainly rumoured to carry the most sinister reputation in Celtic tree lore and has long been associated with darkness and mystery. Referred to as the keeper of dark secrets, it is renowned for being a tool capable of keeping evil contained.
True to the duality of its old world reputation though, the Blackthorn is also associated with protection. Not only can it be used to contain evil, it can also be used as a boundary to keep bad things out. In Irish fairytales in particular, it’s not uncommon for heroes to be helped by the Blackthorn tree in such ways as throwing a twig behind them to then take root and form an impenetrable hedge or woods from their enemies.
However, with the ancient Celtic name for Blackthorn being ‘straif’ (meaning ‘strife’ or ‘strive’), it is equally depicted in many fairy tales throughout Europe as a tree of bad omen. It is also associated with warriors, war, blood and death, and its reputation isn’t helped by being known as the tree of destiny. It is a tree that is symbolic of fate, particularly of outside influences that must be obeyed.
The Blackthorn has also be seen as a test of love. In Sleeping Beauty, it is said to be a Blackthorn that forms the thorn bramble that hides the castle from intruders. In order to prove himself worthy, the prince must cut through and survive in order to rescue the princess. (Of course, in the first three books of my series, it’s the ‘princesses’ who break through the boundary to rescue my ‘princes’. 😉 )
AGAINST THE ODDS
Despite its mixed messages, the Blackthorn ultimately carries a positive message. Its small, delicate white flowers that appear in early spring out of the darkness of winter are said to symbolize surviving a time of difficulty – the light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak. A particularly cold spring is referred to as a ‘Blackthorn Winter’ because its berries that ripen after the first frost – after the trials and tribulations of a bad winter – are said to be the sweetest.
Due to this, the Blackthorn is said to represent strength and perseverance, not least because of its wood’s resilience against the weather. It can also grow where many other trees can’t, further associating it with strength. The Blackthorn is often called the ‘Mother of the Woods’ because it is the first tree that grows on wastelands and creates safe nurseries where other trees can then grow, thus giving it nurturing associations too. But, off the back of this, the Blackthorn carries a sacrificial overtone as well. It has been known that once a forest takes root and flourishes, the Blackthorn slowly dies.
So, there you have it. Though considered a portent of challenges and adversity ahead, according to Celtic lore, with it comes the promise of improvement. Associated with overcoming obstacles for a better future, Blackthorn is ultimately representative of hope in the midst of devastation.
I do love a happy ending. 🙂
(Please note (because I have to do this): The information contained in this post is from various sources that, unfortunately, I’ve lost track of over the years. I’m not advocating its accuracy or making any claims for the research.)
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There’s now only four weeks to go until the release of Blood Deep!
But, in case you missed my announcement on Facebook on Friday, not everyone will have to wait that long. I’ll be back tomorrow with news of how one lucky reader can get their hands on Blood Deep even sooner than that.
I’ll post how tomorrow. Enjoy the rest of your weekend! 😀
I’ve been a little quiet on here this past month, but lots has been happening in the background – not least a long chat with my publisher on Friday about Blackthorn’s future. For those who don’t follow me on Facebook, you might not know that I submitted my proposal for the rest of the series recently. I’ll have more news soon as to how it went. I also saw Blood Deep’s cover for the first time last week! I cannot wait to share it with you! 😀
With less than five weeks to go now until the release of Blood Deep, I can’t believe it’s only been eight months since we were building up to the release of Blood Torn.
The reviews are still coming in though (THANK YOU to every single person who continues to rate and review my books), the most recent coming from Sarah at Larissa & Friends’ Bookish Life.
A while ago, they gave Blood Shadows 4 stars, then Blood Roses received 4 1/2 and now Blood Torn has been given 5 stars!!
“With the series now onto #3 I wondered where we would be going next and if Pryor could keep up the form that she displayed with the first two. I didn’t need to worry! #3 is quite possibly my favourite of the series…I still haven’t really worked out how they will all fit together but that’s the world that Pryor has created – keeps me on my toes!”
Thank you so much, Sarah!
Then today, Blackthorn hit the recommended reads list on The Author Visits:
“I found this series while perusing Amazon in search of a new arsenal of books to read. Boy was I NOT disappointed with my findings. As a fan of J. Ward and L. Adrian and as a paranormal writer myself, I am always on the lookout for something fresh, creative and more importantly, well written. Lindsay Pryor nails all three of my reading requirements and how.
Lindsay’s writing style swept me in. She has a literary approach to telling a fantastical story and I absolutely applaud her for that. Lindsay has become one of my all time favorite writers because she has managed to build a world that is full of intriguing characters while doing it was panache. She avoids what I call “grunge” language and draws you in with intelligent writing and hence, it’s a no-brainer why she’d made it on my recommendation list.”
Thank you hugely, Veena!
I’ll be back with a blog post in a few days, explaining what inspired me to name the series ‘Blackthorn’. Oh, and yes, there will be lots of BloodDeep news coming soon! Have a great week, everyone!
I still can’t quite believe how much excitement has been flooding in for this pending announcement. But then again, neither can I believe we’re on book 4 of my Blackthorn series already! It only feels like a short time ago since I launched with Blood Shadows.
But here it is…calendars at the ready…it’s Blood Deep‘s release date!
NINE weeks and counting!!
There will be lots more between now and then though – not least the cover reveal, the first three chapters uploaded here for you to read for free, and a post from me giving you a few clues as to what to expect. It’s all on its way. 😀
If you’re not a regular here,you might not know that Blood Deep features the final integral Blackthorn couple you need to meet: Eden and Jessie. For those who are still assuming this is the finale, I cannot stress enough that it’s not!
And if you are fairly new here, and don’t yet know how Blackthorn began and developed into what it is today, I was asked to reveal all in a post for my week-long spotlight on the wonderful ‘The Author Visits’. You can read it here.
Some of you will know that, last month, a few days before my first draft of Blood Deep was due in, my trusty old laptop passed away. My laptop had been my Blackthorn buddy for almost fourteen years and all of the first four Blackthorn books were written on it.
Blackthorn didn’t start on my laptop, of course. When I first started writing the series, I was armed only with a pen and paper and my electric typewriter because, back in 1996, I had no such thing as a computer. Four years later, my laptop became my Blackthorn haven.
The poor thing certainly worked hard all its life, sometimes for ten or twelve hours a day until, eventually, it couldn’t hold more than 8% battery at a time. In the last few months, it had to be permanently plugged in – and when your writing buddy is of the nibbling variety, it can be quite a feat managing Blackthorn and a loose cable!
Tilly – my rescue bunny/A mistreated bunny rehabilitated/When the Blackthorn angst gets too much!
Of all the times to leave me though, my laptop certainly picked the most opportune. Happening around my 40th birthday, I had the perfect excuse to indulge. So here’s where the rest of the Blackthorn series will be written – on my brand new laptop! It arrived last week but, with my second draft of Blood Deep due in on Monday, yesterday was the first time I got a chance to play with it.
The keys are backlit! Perfect for night-time tapping away!! (A dark PNR author has to consider these things.)
And talking about the rest of the Blackthorn series… the REALLY exciting news is that Bookouture is showing interest in signing more!! We’re currently in conversations about it so please keep your fingers crossed that all goes well. I can’t think of any better publisher to see the series through to the end.
So thank you to everyone who is helping make this happen by rating and reviewing my books, leaving all your comments and messages of support here and all the amazing stuff that happens on Facebook to help spread the word (reaching over 4,000 people last week alone!). Basically, thank you for making it loud and clear that you want more Blackthorn. Not only is my publisher listening, you’re helping tempt new readers into the series every day. I am so VERY grateful for your support.
I’ll have more news on Blood Deep shortly but, for now, for those who are assuming it’s the final book (and contains the end battle), I can’t stress enough that it’s not. It’s all about the final couple – and many more pieces of the Blackthorn puzzle falling into place. Then, as I put it to my publisher, the honeymoon period is over (cue a scary-sounding “mwah-ha-ha”). I’ll have more news for you in a while about what to expect next – as well as that eagerly awaited Blood Deep release date, and so much more!
A little while ago, I mentioned on Facebook that an awesome interview had landed on my desk. Charles Phipps – an all-round fantasy and sci-fi fan – discovered my series through his wife, Kat (awesome lady), and has since become a huge Blackthorn fan. Not only did he read my books, but he reviewed them too.
The minute I read his reviews for Blackthorn (all 5 stars, yay!), I was taken aback both by just how much he had picked up on as well as his unique reflections. I’ll be honest and say we don’t agree on everything (be warned – he’s not a Kane fan! *gasp of horror*), but isn’t that the great thing about books? Having now read a lot of his reviews, I totally respect how much time, effort and thought he puts into each one. Charles knows his stuff and, yes, I’m in awe of how much he knows.
An avid fan of worldbuilding (he is a fantasy writer himself, debuting with Permuted Press in 2015), Charles was keen to know more about Blackthorn’s creation. Knowing he’d come up with some nitty-gritty (and maybe tricky) questions, I simply couldn’t resist signing up to this one.
This has to be the most detailed interview I’ve ever given about creating Blackthorn and the process I went through – as well as a couple of hints of what to expect in Blood Deep (as always, no spoilers!). You can read the interview HERE.
And if you’d like to read Charles’ fabulously insightful reviews of each Blackthorn book so far, you can click on the links below:
Thank you SO much for hosting me on your blog, Charles – and for your patience in waiting for me to get Blood Deep drafted first!
And talking of Blood Deep…
My revisions came back last week and it’s all looking good (phew)!! I’ll be making it the best it can be now under my editor’s guidance before sending it back in preparation for line edits. The even-better news is we’re another step closer to me being able to disclose the release date to you. I can’t wait! 😀
I’ve finished writing Blood Deep! Well, in first draft anyway. As of yesterday, it’s in the hands of my publisher and editor whilst I await their verdict in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, I’m left with post-exam/post-interview nerves. Let’s hope they like it!
That’s the exciting news. As a small aside, the sad news is that on Friday, days before my deadline, my beloved laptop finally gave up on me. It feels like the end of an era, not least because I’ve spent fourteen years writing Blackthorn on it. It’s now going to rest snugly in my attic with my old electric typewriter where Blackthorn begun its first outing all those years ago. Sigh.
But back to Blood Deep…
So what happens next?
Before you get too excited, for those not in the know, this is just the first stage of the process. Once the story gets the nod of approval, the structural edits soon follow. After the structural edits come the line edits. After the line edits come the copy edits. A whole team will be working away in the background week after week until Blood Deep is exactly how I want it. The good news, however, is that although there’s still a wait, it might not be too much longer before my publisher let’s me announce the release date. Stay close for that one!
HUGE thanks, Team Blackthorn!
Since the release of Blood Torn back at the end of February, Blackthorn’s readership has increased day by day. Luckily for the series, many of you are wonderfully vocal with it – and this is something that certainly hasn’t gone unnoticed by my publisher. I cannot thank you enough for all the amazing messages you’ve been sending my way, let alone the fantastic reviews you’ve been leaving on places such as Amazon and Goodreads. Every single review matters and makes a massive difference in helping towards more Blackthorn books being signed. So THANK YOU so much for taking time out to share your support for both me and Blackthorn.
It’s payback time with a giveaway!
So to say thank you to all my awesomely-lovely Blackthorn supporters and because it’s my 40th birthday next week, I can’t resist a giveaway. I’ve been promising this for a little while but wanted to hold on until Blood Deep was in.
The challenge is simple and hopefully fun! Could you cast ‘Blackthorn The Movie’? Did you have someone in mind when you read the books? Do you know who would make the perfect Kane? The best Leila? Have you already decided on the ideal man to play Jask Tao and head up Blackthorn’s most notorious pack?
All you have to do to enter this giveaway is write your suggestions below this postor on my Facebook page stating who YOU would cast in the title roles. Because casting is so subjective though, I’m not going to judge the winners. Instead I’m going to pick names randomly from a hat. You get an entry for every suggestion you make so the more characters you choose, the better chance you stand!
The prizes
There are TWO prizes up for grabs – again, the winner of each prize will be chosen randomly. The same person may even win both!
Are you looking at the picture of that manuscript above, wondering what’s written beyond that first chapter? I’m going to give one reader the chance to read the first three chaptersof Blood Deepbefore anyone else (other than my publisher and editor!). It won’t be an e-copy though – I’ll send you a one-off print version signed by me.
Also up for grabs is a signed paperback copy of my last release, Blood Torn.
It doesn’t matter where you are, I’ll post both prizes anywhere – so don’t let location put you off.
The giveaway opens now and closes on Wednesday June 25th (midnight UK time). I’ll announce the winners on Friday 27th June here on my blog.
I’ll also be posting all your suggestions onto a Pinterest board dedicated to YOUR shared vision of the Blackthorn cast. I’ll share the completed board with you once the competition closes.
I’m going to be taking a short break between now and then but please do keep posting your entries! Good luck! 🙂
A frequent question authors get asked is who inspired their characters, not least in terms of their appearance. I’ve always had to answer with the honest answer of “no-one”. Instead of seeing someone and then creating a character based on that inspiration, the creation of my characters and their appearances sparked simultaneously.
This, of course, was never an issue when they stayed in my head and no one else needed to see them. But, since being published, it’s not just interviewers who ask that question – of course my publisher now needs to see my vision too, not least for those all-important book covers.
I’ve made no secret of the fact I’ve had a real struggle trying to find the right images for each of my characters. Having lived with them for almost eighteen years now, they’re as clear to me as anyone I know. I’ve trawled through hundreds of images these past eighteen months trying to find the right people to match my vision. All I’ll say is thank goodness for Pinterest!
Well, it’s that time again. 😀 With the first draft of Blood Deep due with Bookouture next week, it won’t be too long before the editing process is underway and the covers start being discussed. So, after a couple of months of keeping it secret, I’ve now launched my Blood Deep board over on Pinterest. There will be lots more to come on it in due course but, for now, I have a few sample Eden and Jessie shots to share. The ones below, I think, are the most defining. I hope you like them!
And talking of finding appropriate people to play my characters…
A few weeks ago I asked if anyone would like to have a bit of fun sharing who you would cast to play my characters in the film version of Blackthorn – all as part of a giveaway. I have more news of that next week!
