Rose’s Sassy Quote of the Day
(…because we all know she has plenty of them.)
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(teaser from my upcoming book, The Assassins of Light, Book Three of the Creatures of Darkness series.)
Rose’s Sassy Quote of the Day
The Darkest Monster of All
What happens when tragedy meets the power of the Eklektos?
No excerpt with this one because SO MANY SPOILERS. But guys, I honestly think that this is one of the most intense scenes I’ve ever written. My heart was pounding the entire time I wrote it. As Erastos told Rose in The Tomb of Blood: If you think you know what the Eklektos is, you’re wrong…
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(Teaser is from my upcoming book, The Assassins of Light, Book Three of the Creatures of Darkness series.)
The Halfway Mark
Note: I wrote this post on Facebook, originally, about a month ago. So, I’m actually at over 125,000 words now. 😊
In case you missed the post from last night: I’m playing catch up until I get the website caught up with everything else.
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I’ve officially reached 100,000 words for The Assassins of Light. The books in the Creatures of Darkness series usually come out to about 200,000 words each, so if this one is, too, then, I’m officially at the halfway mark (and the last half usually takes less time than the first 😊). I’m at that magical part of novel-writing where the parts finally click together like a puzzle, and I’m so excited about it. So far, this book has been so different from the first two. There’s a bit more stillness (geographically) in this one because there’s a portion of the book where they’re forced to hide and wait for a few days. So, there are fewer fight scenes, which is weird for me because I’m used to writing so many, but that leaves more time for other things that some of you have asked for more of (cough, cough, sex scenes, cough, cough). (…more awkward coughing…) 😂 This book has been an emotional rollercoaster for me so far (I said that with The Tomb of Blood, too, but this one is like a massive rollercoaster with those upside-down flippy-things), and I love that the subplots are finally getting to pan out. I won’t say that I love it more than The Tomb of Blood yet. Just differently. These books are all their own creatures, I think, (even though there’s a very important overarching plot line), and all of them have my heart in their own ways. ❤️
Fighting Hatred
I realized today that I’ve, once again, fallen behind on website updates. I’m so sorry, guys. I am the epitome of a frazzled mother. 😂 I’m going to torture myself with an obscene amount of Post-It notes until I remember to keep everything updated, instead of just Facebook. (On a side note, if you haven’t friended me yet on Facebook, you should. I’m way more active on there. 😊) So, for the next few days, I’ll be playing catch-up with book teasers until the website is caught up with everything else.
This particular book teaser is a bit different from the ones I usually post. Usually, I choose quotes that hint at the main plot or quotes that just make me smile. I post them because I’m excited about the book I’m writing, and I want to share my excitement. ❤️ This one was different. I made a book teaser with this quote because, as I read the news that night, as I listened to people spew unbelievable hate, as I wept and wondered how to respond to such hatred, this part of the book came to mind.
If you’ve read The Tomb of Blood, you probably already know that in this upcoming book, The Assassins of Light, Rose and her friends are facing down an extremist organization that’s founded upon hatred. This organization, known as the Assassins of Light, want to eradicate vampires from the planet, supposedly for the safety of humans.
I live in Alabama, and I can tell you: most of the stereotypes are wrong. But…unfortunately…I have known my fair share of racists. But typically, racists don’t know they’re racist. They make these veiled remarks that they’ve convinced themselves are harmless. And…I know these people. I’m related to some of them. And I’ve always believed, deep down, that even they would condemn white supremacy, if faced with it outright. But then, they were faced with it, and they didn’t condemn it. They defended it. It was heartbreaking. The moment that really broke me, though, was when I heard someone I know defending the man who killed the protester in Charlottesville. Political differences are one thing, but defending a white supremacist and murderer? I usually keep my mouth shut when it comes to politics. I tell myself that it’s to protect relationships, but I think part of it is also to protect myself from the aggressive verbal attacks I’d face otherwise. (People really lose their cool over politics.) But that night, as I cried, and my heart pounded, and I wondered what the right thing to do might be, I thought of Rose.
Because Rose, really, is a braver version of me. We share the same insecurities and fears. She just faces them with more courage than I do. And I thought: what would Rose do? And then, I remembered this scene from The Assassins of Light (the book I’m writing now). And I realized: Rose wouldn’t just cry over the heartbreaking state of the world. She wouldn’t just wish she could soothe the pain in the world. She’d do those things, yes, but not just those things. She would speak out. She would defend the oppressed.
And I desperately want to be that brave.
When you create a nightmare scenario for a dark fantasy novel, you never expect the real world to start mirroring it. But that’s exactly how it feels now. The quote above is something that Rose says in The Assassins of Light (Book Three of the Creatures of Darkness series), and it feels way too relevant right now.
New Character Preview
I’m trying to cheer myself up because I am Miserably Sick (I’m pretty sure that’s an actual diagnosis 😜), and talking about my books always makes me feel better. So…
One of the new characters that you’ll meet in The Assassins of Light is Talulah. (You might recognize the name, if you’ve read The Tomb of Blood. She was mentioned once or twice.) While Aaron leads the vampire colony in Northern Europe, Talulah leads the one in North America (though hers is smaller and less powerful). Talulah is an interesting character to write because she approaches leadership in a totally different way than Aaron. In Rose’s words: “Well, I’ve known her for ten minutes, and she hasn’t beheaded anyone yet. She’s less homicidal than Aaron, at least.”
And…here’s a spoiler-free teaser to introduce you to her… 😊
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“Listen closely,” Talulah began. “We only have one chance to get this right, and the last thing we need is someone going rogue.” She looked directly at Kara when she said that last part.
Rose glanced back and forth between two women, noticing Talulah’s knowing gaze and Kara’s sly smirk. “Oh my word,” Rose groaned. “You’ve dated her, too, haven’t you?”
Kara glanced at Rose, a guilty smile twitching at the corners of her lips. “Maybe.”
Rose rolled her eyes. “You’d think that the woman who is the second-in-command of the most powerful vampire colony in the world, the spymaster of a worldwide network of spies, and the personal assassin of the most ancient vampire in the world wouldn’t have time for a love life, but nooooo! Apparently, she’s had time to date the entire world.”
Kara laughed at Rose’s teasing. “Not the entire world.”
“Just fifty percent of it,” Rose said in her sassiest tone.
Kara laughed again–quietly, but still loud enough that several people turned to look at her.
“Kara,” Talulah sighed, her dark gaze shifting toward Kara. “Are you listening?”
Kara just smiled. “Of course. How else would I follow the plan?”
Talulah’s deep, black eyes narrowed suspiciously at that, but she continued talking anyway.
As soon as Talulah looked away, Kara leaned in close to Rose. “Come with me,” she whispered, and then, without giving Rose time to object, she grabbed Rose’s hand and started pulling her through the crowd of vampires, toward the door at the back of the room.
“Wait,” Rose hissed, jerking Kara to a stop. “What are you doing?”
“We have to go,” Kara said. “Quickly. We only have about thirty seconds until Talulah realizes we’ve left, and she will not be happy.”
“But,” Rose sputtered, her eyes wide, “what about the plan?”
Kara’s icy blue eyes sparkled with mischief. “We’re going rogue,” she said with a smirk. “Obviously.”
—-
from THE ASSASSINS OF LIGHT
Book 3 of the CREATURES OF DARKNESS series
© Britney Jackson
My Writing Playlist
I've mentioned before that one of my pre-writing rituals is creating a playlist of songs that "fit" the book I'm writing. I try to find songs that fit the mood of each chapter (dark songs, sultry songs, sad songs, exciting songs, etc.). My final playlist for each book is usually extremely long because…well…writing a 200,000-word book requires a lot of songs. (For me, anyway.) But there's always this one song that stands out to me, that "feels" like the book, more than any other. I posted (around this time last year) that "Better Love" by Hozier was that song for The Tomb of Blood. Well, I think "Battlefield" by Svrcina is that song for The Assassins of Light. The song feels dark, somber, suspenseful, and a little bit romantic, much like this book. Plus, the lyrics are perfect. ❤️ I mean, just look at them… ❤️❤️❤️
Crazy Writing Rituals
One of my crazy writing rituals is burning candles that smell like my characters. (For example, I usually burn vanilla candles when I'm writing important Rose-scenes.) Well, the one character that I never had a candle for is Kara, which made me kind of sad because I've written so many candle-less scenes for her. In the books, she's often described as smelling like "violets and leather," which, in Rose's opinion, is a scent that fits her because it's "wild and strong, but beneath the surface, so sweet." Well, guess what? I finally found a violet-scented candle! And I'm feeling a weird amount of excitement about it because it's my weird writing ritual, and I'm a weird person. So…yeah… Yay for scented candles and weird writing rituals and weirdness in general! ❤️
New Book Teaser from THE ASSASSINS OF LIGHT
Just your friendly reminder not to mess with Rose. Because… 1) Rose can rip you apart with her mind, and 2) Kara is REALLY good at killing people. 😂
——–
Kara flashed a dangerous smile at him. “I’ve poisoned sixteen people this week and dismembered twenty-seven. Twenty-eight, if you insult her again.”
Rose stared at Kara, her eyes wide. She slowly returned her gaze to the EXTREMELY rude vampire and offered him an apologetic smile—that he didn’t deserve. “Kara takes her oath to protect me a little TOO seriously,” she explained.
“Clearly,” the vampire snarled.
Kara watched as he turned and disappeared into the living room. “He’s not as useful as he thinks he is. I don’t think anyone would complain if I killed him,” she said thoughtfully. When she noticed that Rose was watching her with both eyebrows raised, her lips twitched upward at the edges. “What?” she said with a guilty smile. She shrugged. “I’m nothing, if not a woman of her word.”
Rose gave her a skeptical look.
“A woman of her word who lies,” Kara amended, “a lot.”
Rose tilted her head to the side, frowning at the paradoxical statement.
“But I’m a spy and an assassin,” Kara added as she led the way toward the kitchen. She leaned forward and opened the door for Rose. “So, it doesn’t count when I lie.”
Rose laughed, “I don’t think it works that way, but…nice try.”
—-
from THE ASSASSINS OF LIGHT
Book 3 of the CREATURES OF DARKNESS series
© Britney Jackson
Book Teaser from THE ASSASSINS OF LIGHT
I’ve been having a lot of good writing days lately, and because of that, I am so excited about this next book right now. And boys and girls, I am here to tell you that excitement leads to book teasers. (It’s like a physiological fact, isn’t it?) 😜
So, here it is! A teensy-weensy teaser from my next book, THE ASSASSINS OF LIGHT! 😁
I don’t usually post quotes from the romantic parts of my books, so I guess I’m breaking tradition today. 😊 Crazy, battle-axe-wielding, Viking-warrior Kara Unnarsdóttir isn’t sentimental often, so when she is, you have to commemorate it with a teaser. (It’s like a rule or something.) 😜
(I finally finished my very rough draft of the book blurb/description for THE ASSASSINS OF LIGHT, so once I finish designing the cover, I’ll post it, too.)
Anyway, I hope you like the teaser! ❤️
THE ASSASSINS OF LIGHT
I’ve been working really hard on The Assassins of Light (Book Three of the Creatures of Darkness series), and I’m pretty excited about some of the parts that I’ve written so far. ❤️
For those of you still reading or planning to read The Tomb of Blood (Book Two of the Creatures of Darkness series), I really, really hope you like it. I poured so much into that book, and it was such an emotional experience for me. And I’m so excited (and terrified) to now be sharing it with everyone. 😊❤️
For those of you who have already finished it, thank you so much for reading it, and I would love to hear what you thought (if you haven’t already told me). And I promise I’ll have The Assassins of Light finished as quickly as possible (or as quickly as the kids will let me, haha.) But until then, maybe some excerpts and teasers will hold you over. 😉
Speaking of excerpts…
If you’ve ever been curious about Rose’s infamous, criminal brother, I have good news… You’ll finally meet him in The Assassins of Light. (He originally had a scene in The Stone of the Eklektos, but I cut it out because that book was long.) Anyway, Rose’s brother, Zach Foster, is finally out of prison and will be in The Assassins of Light. And here’s a little excerpt to introduce you to him! 😊 I hope you like it! ❤️
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“Put that back, or so help me, God, I will call your parole officer myself!” Rose snarled as she stormed into the room and leveled him with a deadly glare.
Zach dropped the gun and looked at her. “You would never.”
“Don’t tempt me,” she growled. “Put the other three guns back, too.”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “There is an entire government organization out to kill me. Don’t you think that it’s okay to break the law, just this once?”
“Okay, first of all, cool it with the conspiracy theories. As far as we know, the Assassins of Light are operating outside of the government,” Rose began, snatching another gun out of his hand, “for now. Second, they’re not trying to kill you. They’re trying to kill me. They just wanted to use you to lure me to them.”
“And…why do they want to kill you?” Zach asked suspiciously.
“Long story,” Rose muttered. She rolled her eyes when she noticed him swipe a wallet off of the table. “Put it back. Right now. And stop stealing stuff!”
Zach gave her a peeved look as he reluctantly returned the wallet.
Rose ran her fingers through her long, red hair and sighed. “Don’t worry. If the Assassins of Light come back, I have plenty of weapons to cover us both.”
Zach studied her with a suspicious frown. “Like…fangs?”
She froze. “You know,” she realized.
“Were you ever going to tell me?” he asked quietly.
“Well, I figured you might ask questions in like fifty years when I haven’t aged, and then…maybe,” Rose sighed. “Who told you? It was Kara, wasn’t it?”
Zach frowned. “Which one is Kara?”
“The crazy, leather-clad woman with way too many weapons,” Rose said.
“Oh, you mean your girlfriend,” he said, nodding.
Rose rolled her eyes. “Oh, goodness, not you, too,” she complained. “Kara is not my girlfriend. Why does everyone think that she’s my girlfriend?”
“Uh…probably because you keep making out with her,” he muttered.
She blushed, mortified. “Those were…accidents.”
“Hey, I tried to use that excuse, too,” he said. “I still went to prison.”
She scowled at him. “You didn’t accidentally break seventeen laws.”
“And YOU didn’t accidentally kiss someone seventeen times,” he countered.
Rose sighed, “I’m not having this conversation with you.”
“Have you slept with her?” he continued.
“Not…having…this…conversation…with…you,” she said slowly.
“Pleading the fifth is a sign of guilt,” Zach told her.
Rose narrowed her eyes at him and pasted on a fake smile. “I’m so relieved to see that prison didn’t make you any nicer,” she said sarcastically. “I would hate to find out that five years in a correctional facility actually corrected something.”
He mimicked her sassy smile perfectly. “Well, if death didn’t make you any less annoying, I don’t know why you would expect prison to change me.”
Rose turned, her brows furrowing, as she heard the commotion that was coming from downstairs. She sighed irritably, “I’ll be back. I have to stop these vampires from killing each other. Again. Just…stay in here.” She headed toward the door. As she left, she yelled over her shoulder, “And stop stealing stuff!”
He glared at the back of her head. “Well, you…stop kissing people!”
—
from THE ASSASSINS OF LIGHT
Book 3 of the CREATURES OF DARKNESS series
© Britney Jackson
Britney Jackson 
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