Cerberus:
Book 1 of Parish
by P.K. Gallagher
Release date:
Paranormal YA Fantasy
For Kaeden Parish, life in Solace has always followed certain rules—everything makes sense, everything can be planned for, and everything is as it seems. Unfortunately, the secret harbored by his gorgeous, albeit guarded girlfriend is about to shatter all of that.
After a successful attack on his life opens his eyes to a world of war, shadows, and supernatural creatures—a world he didn’t plan for—Kaeden finds himself resembling the sort of monster he has always feared. As he desperately struggles to resist a new temptation, danger draws ever nearer, threatening the ones he loves most. A prophecy tells of a final battle and great destruction, and Kaeden must decide which side he is on, a choice that could mean the end of the world.
In Book 1 of the Solace Series, P.K. Gallagher pulls readers into a realm where good and evil are at war, and the outcome of it all rests on one young man’s decision to either go and live...or stay and die.
This is where the story of Parish begins.
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Guest Post - What, exactly, is behind the title 'Cerberus'?
The age old question, “what’s in a name?” huh?
To be honest, I’ve tried avoiding this question for quite some time as answering it presents some potential spoilers, but I’ve been getting it so often that I guess I’ll try working around those.
As you may or may not know, Cerberus has been in the works for nearly a decade and as such has gone through a number of incarnations. That said, through all the revisions and alterations, two elements have remained constant: vampirism and the stone offered to my protagonist as a cure for it.
The stone that became Cerberus is the single most important element in the story. Though it may seem like a plot device to some reading the first book, it is an integral part to the Parish arc—without it, the entire story crumbles. For this reason, I never had to agonize over finding inspiration for the title of my book the way some authors have to. I’ve always known that it had to be named after the stone.
Now, the stone itself has gone through some slight changes—for a long time, Kaeden was offered only a shard of it, which was, at the time, a shade of purple. It eventually turned red and became a full dagger, but its function and usage has always been the same, and the title has always reflected that. Back when the stone was purple, the book was called, amusingly enough, Shard of Twilight. When it became clear that that wasn’t going to fly given the explosive success of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight, I turned the stone red and renamed it Shard of Claret (I was still young and dumb at this point, so please don’t begrudge me that God awful name), then Shard of Anima which eventually became Blade of Anima. It wasn’t until I finalized the origin of the stone, however, that I decided on the perfect name for both the stone and my manuscript: Cerberus.
For those of you who haven’t brushed up on your Greek mythology lately, Cerberus is the giant, three-headed dog that guards the entrance to Hades. If any of the souls there attempt to escape, Cerberus devours them (the same goes for people who call him Fluffy—he hates that).
I think a lot of people have the impression that I used the name Cerberus because it sounds cool, but I assure you, that’s not it at all. There is a parallel between the mythical beast’s task and the way the stone Cerberus is crafted, and that parallel makes the sharing of the name all too logical. I won’t go into detail on it because we’d be getting pretty deep into spoiler territory for the second book, but I will say that refining the stone is one hell of a doozy (pun totally intended). To fully understand the reasoning behind it, though, interested parties will just have to pick up a copy of Receptica when it comes out and read all about it then.
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P.K.Gallagher – Cerberus Excerpt
And suddenly the man was right in front of him.
“What the—!” Kaeden jumped back, shocked.
“Oh, but you are,” Rhiam said. “I can make the hunger go away altogether, you know. Make it so that everything is how it once was. My reasons for wanting this information and what you think of them are really of very little consequence. If you’ll get it to me without question, I’ll give you what you want in equal fashion. I will give you this.” He made a motion with his hand and above it appeared a small dagger.
Startled, Kaeden swore and stumbled back only to trip and fall backwards against a sofa. Rhiam squatted beside him, a patronizing smile on his face, the dagger hovering just above his palm. It was maybe eight inches long with a handle that looked uncannily like bleached bone and a blade the color of blood.
And it materialized out of freaking nowhere, Kaeden thought in awe. He should have been throwing a fit; in fact, normally, he was certain he would have been. However, he was oddly calm right then as he looked at the dagger. The blade gave off an eerie, incandescent glow that eased his disquiet and hunger.
“You’re not joking about all this, are you?” he asked weakly.
Rhiam’s smile widened. “Do you think it’s funny?” Kaeden did not, and he knew it must show. “The blade is made of a stone we’ve named Cerberus,” he said. “It drains a…vampire’s immortality and the thirst for blood needed to sustain it.”
Kaeden flinched at the word, and it occurred to him that this was an all or nothing deal. Either he believed Rhiam’s entire story or none of it, meaning that if he believed that Rhiam could help him with his Cerberus stone, he’d have to believe that he truly had become a vampire.
He couldn’t accept that, could he? He was human. He was Kaeden. Things like vampires just didn’t exist. And people can’t make things appear out of thin air or blow things up with a wave of their hand, but you’ve seen it done. He put a hand to his heart but felt nothing. He swallowed.
“How does it work?” How did this happen?
“It’s very straightforward, really. You simply drive the blade into your heart, and it will take care of the rest.” Kaeden looked at the dagger. It may have been small, more for decoration than combat, but it was wicked sharp and would no doubt kill someone very quickly if thrust through that person’s vital organs.
“You have got to be kidding me.” This has to be some kind of joke.
“Come now,” Rhiam said. “Don’t be so negative. You do want me to go away, don’t you? For everything to go away? For everything to fit into your nice little mold of sane and insane again? If you don’t now, you will soon. As soon as a dryyd comes after you again—”
“Stop it.” Where’s Hagan?
“—As soon as you have to drink blood—”
“I said stop.” Where’s my heartbeat.
“—As soon as you kill someone—”
“Shut up!” Kaeden shouted, scrambling to his feet and putting distance between himself and Rhiam. He scratched roughly at the back of his head. He just didn’t know. He didn’t know what he believed, he didn’t know what he was going to do, he felt like he didn’t know anything at all. He’d outlined his life so perfectly, planned everything so perfectly, complete with Plan Bs and even contingency plans for those. This, however, was something he’d never planned for, had never in a million years expected, and he had no idea how to deal with it, or even how to modify his perfectly laid out schemas to accept it. For the first time in years, he simply didn’t know what to do.
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About the Author:
Despite writing stories that take place almost exclusively in New England, speculative young adult fiction author P. K. Gallagher has lived in the suburbs of the south her entire life. It is to this that she attributes her love of the fantastic and the supernatural—writing such things was her only escape from the monotony of Suburbia. Gallagher graduated from Florida A&M University in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a fervent desire to never set foot inside a newsroom again.
She currently lives in Atlanta and divides her time between working a day job, finishing her works in progress, and perfecting her plans for world domination.
Giveaway
$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Ends 10/25/13
Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer I Am A Reader, Not A Writerand sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
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