Prodigal and Riven (Lost Imperials #2 & #3) by Sherry D. Ficklin and Tyler H. Jolley
Blurbs:
Two
journeys. One inescapable outcome. No time to lose.
RIVEN:
What should be
a routine mission leaves Ethan with a serious problem. He's fractured—a break
between mind and body that leaves him at the mercy of his Rifter abilities,
which are quickly tearing him apart. He will have to trust the only person who
might know how to fix him, a mysterious Rifter named Stewart Stills, who seems
to have a special connection with the time stream.
Forced to face
his dark past and a decision he may never forgive himself for, he will be
trained unlike any of the others, to become a true guardian for time. If he
accepts, it will mean leaving everyone he loves behind. If he refuses, time
itself could unravel. After a glimpse of the dark future awaiting them all, he
will have to choose between destiny and desire. Will he rise up and take his
place as a defender of the natural order, or will he watch as all of time burns
at the hands of the girl he loves?
Welcome to the
time war.
PRODIGAL:
Stein has been
with the Hollows for as long as she can remember. Taken as a child, she has no
memories of her past—and that's always been fine by her. Until the day she
stumbles across a hidden journal containing the devastating truth about her
paternity. Now everything she thought she knew—and everyone she thought she
could trust—has changed. The truth about who she is and where she came from is
a secret so deep, it will rock the Hollows and the Tesla Institute alike.
During a test to
verify her bloodlines, Stein makes a terrible discovery. She is carrying a rare
genetic mutation that is slowly killing her. Unsure who to turn to and running
out of time, she has no choice but to turn to Tesla—her most hated enemy—for
help. But can she trust the man who she's been fighting against her whole life,
or will she end up another piece in his deadly game of cat and mouse with the
people who betrayed her so long ago?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interview:
-How does it feel to be releasing two books at
once?
Sherry – Crazy. On one hand, it’s a bit frenzied, but it’s also a unique
challenge, which I love. We’ve never been big on doing things the
‘conventional’ way, so when it was suggested, we jumped on the idea. This way
people don’t have to wait a whole year for what is essentially another side of
the same story.
Tyler – I agree with Sherry, we’re as unconventional as it gets in the
publishing world, and that’s saying something.
Oddly, it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. The biggest thing was making sure the stories
were consistent and didn’t contradict each other or the first book of the
series, Extracted.
-Was it easier co-writing these sequels than it
was Extracted? Did much (or any) of your process change?
Sherry – I think it was much easier. We worked with a new publisher on
these books, and they gave us a lot more freedom with the narrative. Plus,
splitting it the way we did, there was less intersection, so we were really
able to take our individual stories and write them completely, separately,
before going over the together. We didn’t have to leap frog as much.
Tyler – With Extracted there was a get-to-know-you phase and “don’t step
on each other’s toes,” part of the writing.
Now, after Extracted, I knew Sherry’s writing style and she knew mine. We knew how the other outlined, processed
ideas and worked through plots. Plus edits
were a million times easier. The editing
process on Extracted was like walking for an eternity on hot coals. It was the first real edits I had been through
so I thought it was always like that.
I’m glad that’s not the case.
-Did you have the entire story line for the
series mapped out from the beginning? If so, have you since made any changes?
Sherry – Yeah, I think we really did. We made some minor adjustments, but
really, because of the subject matter, we don’t stray too far from the
outlines. We have a definite destination in mind for the finale, so we need to
get everyone there (mostly) intact.
Tyler – The outline was pretty intense, and with a time travel series, you
really can’t deviate too much from it.
If you do then you end up with a series that doesn’t work anymore. The end game is clear and it’s going to be
awesome!
-How do you decide between the two of you how the
story is going to go?
Sherry – We sat down and plotted the entire arc, start to finish. We’ve
always known where and how it’s all going to end, and what stories needed to be
told to get us there.
Tyler – Plotting with Sherry is intense, and being a discovery writer I
had to transform into an outliner. I had learned to embrace the world of
outlining versus freely writing my novels.
-Which character do you relate to the most?
Sherry – I think I’m an Ember. More empathetic and less quick to temper.
Tyler – Lex, I didn’t think so at first, but looking back, he’s my young
alter ego.
-Is there a favourite scene of the series in
either of the two new books?
Sherry – Wow, I have so many. The scene Tyler wrote with the Llamas and
the rickshaws tops my list. But I really like all the scenes with Ember and
Ethan too.
Tyler – Oh yeah, definitely the Llamas and the rickshaws for sure. But then again, there is a pretty major
reveal that is…HUGE.
-Out of Prodigal and Riven, which was more
difficult to write, and why?
Sherry – Wow, I don’t know. I don’t think, for me at least, that either
were difficult. Again, it’s all about letting the reader in on everyone’s
individual stories going into the finale.
Tyler – Stein was tough for me to write, I couldn’t find her voice. Originally I was going to write her POV and
Sherry was going to write Ethan’s. I’m
glad we switched, it was meant to be.
Sherry was able to capture Stein’s voice the way I envisioned her in mind.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bio:
Tyler H. Jolley is a sci-fi/fantasy author and full-time
orthodontist, periodontist (see: Overachiever). He divides his spare time
between writing, reading, mountain biking, and camping with his family.
Sherry D. Ficklin is a full-time writer and internet radio
show host with more mouth then good sense. She has a serious book addiction,
but continually refuses treatment, much to her husband’s chagrin.
Tyler and Sherry met one fateful day and bonded over their
love for books, science fiction, and donuts. Their first co-written novel came
shortly after. Now, they still do all those other things, but also go to
various steampunk conventions and events under the guise of ‘research’. They
can often be found lurking on the Lost Imperials Facebook page or over on the
official website, www.thelostimperials.com.
Preorder link B&N exclusive FLIPBOOK: http://bit.ly/1ICxcCI
Rafflecopter:
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/ea99bce614/" rel="nofollow"
data-raflid="ea99bce614" data-theme="classic"
data-template="" id="rcwidget_ik56gc70">a Rafflecopter
giveaway
