Micah's Calling is a true supplement, meaning that if you have not read Rise of the Fallen (ROTF), you might be a little lost. I had a new beta reader read the novella before reading ROTF, and she said she felt confused at times. Then she read it again after reading ROTF and said it worked exceptionally well that way. She was able to enjoy the story knowing all that had come before.
This novella is most definitely an adult read. It is primarily about Micah's mating phase, known as the calling, so obviously there will be a lot of mating. However, I tried to make the sexual encounters varied and non-repetitious, and I even glossed over a couple of the scenes for fear of obscuring the story, which is one that delves deeper into Micah's past, his relationship with Traceon, and his desire to start a family. With this novella (which comes in around 40,000 words, so it's just shy of being an offical novel), we get to know Micah a lot better, as well as Trace. And we see how Sam figures into both their worlds and how the three of them are growing closer to one another in ways none of them saw coming.
Here's what to expect in Micah's Calling: exhibitionism, voyeurism, mild-to-strong elements of BDSM, and STRONG sexual content. This is probably my sex-heaviest book to date, and probably will be until I get to Traceon's book in the series (his story is told in book five). I was a little reluctant to include so much sexual content, but by the nature of the story, it had to be there. When you have a male vampire who is in a hormonally heat-induced state of arousal for two weeks, where all he is driven to do is impart his seed repeatedly in a non-stop effort to impregnate his mate, a lot of intercourse is going to occur and drive the majority of his thoughts. Add in a tortured male who requires the degradation of submissive BDSM play to control his immense power, and you've got an intense story heated with lots of innuendo and direct physical action.
At any rate, as I was finishing the hard copy edits of Micah's Calling yesterday, I was moved to begin writing the prequel of the series. I've received many comments from readers, friends, and fans, saying they could see a prequel and would love to see what came before to lead up to Micah's fall and subsequent death wish in Rise of the Fallen. Sooooo, here's the deal: I'm working on putting the prequel down in draft form, and if I feel the draft is good enough, I will post the first draft ONLY as a free read on my blog, most likely chapter-by-chapter or maybe by sections.
Now, keep in mind that my first drafts are NEVER like the final product. Ever. I edit the holy living doo-doo out of them, as you saw from my writing sample (from AKM book three, Rebel Obsession) in yesterday's Show vs. Tell post. I treat first drafts merely as a skeleton from which to build the meat of the story, and each draft goes through 5-10 edits and proofs before it's finished. In fact, I might write something in the beginning of the first draft and mid-stream completely change the concept, knowing that I will have to go back and change what was already written. I will add entire chapters during edits. I will rewrite entire chapters during edits. If readers can understand that what they will read on my blog is an exceptionally rough draft, then by all means, I will move forward with this idea and invite you all in to the first stage of my writing process. And all my fans/readers can serve as beta readers, too, offering ideas or observations. I would love and welcome that.
Any thoughts? What do you think?
I love this idea. Go for it.
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