Guest Post: Author Alma Katsu

Guess what? I've got another guest post for you guys! I had so much fun with my first one that I decided to allow another author to take over Peace Love Books for a day! And I've got to say, this guest post is definitely a yummy one! So please give a very warm welcome to Alma Katsu, author of The Taker and The Reckoning! 

-----------------------------------------

The Novel As A Dessert

The ongoing cupcake craze got me thinking how books are like decadent desserts. They are lovely indulgences. We savor them one page (bite) at a time. They can be lush and rich, or tart and sassy. They can be as dark as a chocolate bombe or as light as lemon meringue. Each nibble floods our senses in delight, but we are each delighted in a very personal way.

THE CAKE: I like to think of The Taker Trilogy as a sophisticated dessert, complex with its many flavors and textures. First, there’s the heroine, Lanore McIlvrae. You can think of your protagonist as cake: she must be sturdy enough to carry layers of flavorings and fluff, but in order to hold a reader’s attention, she must be anything but basic. Lanore is a clever but headstrong girl, born in the early 1800s to a poor family living in a remote village in Maine. She falls in love with a young man who will never be hers for a number of reasons, and this star-crossed love is the root of all her troubles. But for all her travails, Lanny is strong enough to not only survive but to triumph.

THE RUM SAUCE: The man she loves is Jonathan St. Andrew, heir to the timber business that keeps the town afloat and preternaturally gorgeous, but because of these God-given advantages, he’s loathe to commit to any single woman. Jonathan is like a potent rum sauce: sweetly irresistible and strong enough to make you do things you’d never do otherwise. But you’re bound to regret your indulgence in the morning.

THE FROSTING: And then there’s Adair, the villain. To me, the villain is the frosting on the cake: he’s the rich and decadent part of the book. Adair is melt-in-your-mouth good. He’s been compared to Anne Rice’s Lestat de Lioncourt and, yes, E.L. James’ Christian Grey. He gets fan mail from his real-life admirers. He’s sexy, and strong—some might say frighteningly so—but he has a vulnerable side that he’s willing to show Lanore (alas, to his ultimate downfall). Adair has otherworldly powers, including the ability to grant eternal life through the use of a special elixir. Immortality comes with a catch, though: the one who is made immortal is bound forever to the person who gave him the elixir. Lanny steals some of this elixir from Adair in order to keep Jonathan with her, only to find out that she’s made a terrible mistake. They’ll both be damned for eternity if she can’t find a way to free them from Adair.

In addition to this lover’s triangle, The Taker books has other charms meant to delight readers and keep them riveted to the pages. Readers have compared The Taker favorably to Anne Rice’s Interview With the Vampire and The Mayfair Witches. Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel’s Legacy series has been another frequent comparison. The Taker doesn’t fall neatly into one genre or another, however, combining elements of historical, horror, fantasy and romance (it’s a dark love story, though, and not a happily ever after—not in the first book, in any case). I hope that, whichever aspect catches your eye, you’ll give The Taker and The Reckoning a try.

Alma Katsu is the author of The Reckoning and The Taker (Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster), the first two books in a centuries-spanning trilogy of love, loss and redemption. The novels have been described as a mix of supernatural-powered fantasy, historical and dark romance, and frequently compared to the early works of Anne Rice and Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian. The Taker was selected by Booklist as a top ten debut novel of 2011. You can learn more about the books at http://www.almakatsu.com

---------------------------------------

Wow, thank you so much for that awesome guest post Alma! Does that mean I get to eat cake while reading your book?? Haha, well I'll find some somewhere :) But for now, here's a little bit about the first two books in Alma's trilogy! 

The Taker

By Alma Katsu 

Release Date: September 6, 2011

Summary: True love can last an eternity . . . but immortality comes at a price. On the midnight shift at a hospital in rural St. Andrew, Maine, Dr. Luke Findley is expecting a quiet evening. Until a mysterious woman arrives in his ER, escorted by police—Lanore McIlvrae is a murder suspect—and Luke is inexplicably drawn to her. As Lanny tells him her story, an impassioned account of love and betrayal that transcends time and mortality, she changes his life forever. . . . At the turn of the nineteenth century, when St. Andrew was a Puritan settlement, Lanny was consumed as a child by her love for the son of the town’s founder, and she will do anything to be with him forever. But the price she pays is steep—an immortal bond that chains her to a terrible fate for eternity.

The Reckoning 

By Alma Katsu

Release Date: April 2, 2012

Summary: A love triangle spanning 200 years...Alma Katsu takes readers on a breathtaking journey through the landscape of the heart."New York Times" bestselling author Scott Westerfeld ("Leviathan") praises Alma Katsu's "The Taker" as, "a centuries-spanning epic that will keep you turning pages all night. This marvelous debut is a thinking person's guilty pleasure." And Keith Donohue ("The Stolen Child") says, ""The Taker" is a frighteningly compelling story about those most human monsters--desire and obsession. It will curl your hair and keep you up late at night."

Now Alma Katsu delivers the highly anticipated follow-up to her haunting novel about an immortal woman learning firsthand that the heart wants what the heart wants...no matter how high the stakes. Fans of "The Taker" can finally indulge in their next juicy fix with the second book of the trilogy, "The Reckoning." In this gripping, pulse-pounding supernatural sequel, discover what happens to Lanny, Luke, Adair--and Jonathan. "The Reckoning" picks up where "The Taker" leaves off, following Lanny on her path to redemption--and creating a whole new level of suspense.

Don't they sound awesome? Make sure you check out the first two books of The Taker Trilogy! I want to thank Alma again for sharing so much about her books! I can't wait for the chance to crack into them :)