Release date: September 6th 2013
Publisher: Uninvited Black Cat
Synopsis:
What do you do when your magic makes you a target? Run. Fight. Die.
14-year-old Kai Koson had nothing to do with the apocalypse, thank you very much. He was just a baby the day a coven of blood witches ripped a hole in the universe and the demons fell screaming from the sky. Earth and its magic perished. Witchkind was hunted and annihilated.
Now, because he was born a witch, Kai must spend his life running and fighting for survival. Even his own uncle seems determined to abandon him.
With nothing left to lose, Kai runs away and joins a team of galactic bounty hunters. But instead of providing an escape, it sets Kai on a path that will destroy everything he believes about himself and the apocalypse, transforming him into the most wanted teenager in the galaxy.
Written with humour, imagination and darkness, Bounty Hunter and its protagonist Kai Koson stand confidently beside Percy Jackson, Artemis Fowl, Alex Rider, Young Bond, Mortal Engines and Harry Potter.
About the author:
S.J. Hollis is a writer. Torturer of fictional teenagers. Author of Bounty Hunter, a YA apocalyptic fantasy with ... erm, funny bits.
Short, unreliable, slightly odd thirty-seven-year-old. Pizza fiend. Suspicious of the human race. Watches the crime channel instead of the morning news. Fan of Percy Bysshe Shelley and Batman. Morning person. Lover of Game of Thrones and Hollyoaks. Skyrim player. Shakespeare admirer. Forty quid a month comics habit. Thinks frost giants are cuddly and Loki needs a hug. Feels sick at the thought of sharing the remote control. Is learning to cook (can fry bacon like the devil fries souls, but spaghetti more of a challenge). Currently obsessed with fish finger sandwiches. Very short attention sp...
S J Hollis lives in Surrey, England with her two houseplants and a cuddly seagull. Bounty Hunter is her debut novel and she is currently working on the next book in the series.
How The Hunger Games Can Help you Build Character:
There’s lots of advice out there on building character. There are whole books on the subject, and I own about seven of them. But let me tell you what works for me. I treat every character as though they are the main protagonist. I give each one a placeholder name that roughly fits the personality or character type that I want, and I write a biography and questionnaire for each one. What are their favourite foods? What’s their favourite day of the week? Are they scared of spiders? What would they do if the sky caught fire?
At this point I’ve usually got a rough plot in my head, or at least either the beginning, middle or end of one. It doesn’t really matter; just start writing. The point is to get your characters moving. You might know that your character has lost a loved one, but you won’t know how they carry that pain around with them until you start challenging them with actual situations. In Bounty Hunter every single character has lost someone or something to the demons, but they all deal with it in different ways. Sam has turned her pain into strength; she’s determined and cautious. Yamiko is the opposite; each day is a crazy-fun game because the world might end tomorrow. Cassius hides. Galway guards, kills and lies. And the point-of-view character, Kai, mouths off, behaves recklessly and seems to want to attract trouble and punishment.
The moment your characters react in the same way, you have a problem. You need to change or eliminate them, because you have an excess character. All characters should be different. They should look different, have very different names, behave differently, have different speech patterns, different ideals and a different set of morals. All main characters should have their own stories -- in theory, you should be able to write a book about each of them. You should also be able to plonk any of them down in anyone else’s story and know how they will behave. In other words, if you can’t put them in the middle of The Hunger Games and know how each of them will either win or lose, you need to work harder. Which one of your characters would kill? Which one would climb up a tree and never come down? Which one would stab their best friend in the back? Which one would risk their own life for a stranger? If you’ve built your characters strongly enough, not
only will you know the answers to these questions, but after finishing your book, your readers will know too (differing conclusions allowed and encouraged). Which member of the Bounty Hunter team would survive The Hunger Games? In the scenario I have in my head right now, Cassius, but not because I know he’s a sneaky genius with excellent hiding instincts, but because I know how all the others would die.
5 comments:
This seems like an awesome book. I think it is interesting having a coven of blood witches causing the apocalypse. Thanks for the opportunity to win a copy of "Bounty Hunter".
Wonderful guest post. Thanks for participating :)
I love bounty hunters! Thanks for the giveaway!
Interesting blurb
I never read about bounty hunter story, looks great read.
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