Friday 11 May 2012

Blog Tour: Keir

One of my earliest writer friends, Pippa Jay, has just released her first scifi romance novel, KEIR. I invited her to come over to my blog and spend some time telling us a bit about the story and how she created one of the main characters, Quin. I hope that some of you will take the opportunity to download and read this exciting novel.


The Origins of Quin


The background story to Keir began as a Doctor Who novel written over cough 20 years ago cough. At the time of writing, I was obsessed with the series and had my heart set on being the next companion, and wrote my story accordingly. So the heroine was short, red-haired, bad-tempered and…well…basically ME. (BTW the photo is me with Sylvester McCoy, the seventh incarnation of the Doctor)

Twenty years on and my helpless hero Keir is trapped in a dungeon, beaten and broken. I’d left him sitting there for five years after dreaming him up and writing a short story about his plight. So I felt he was due a rescue, and I already had my heroine in mind. After two decades of carrying various adventures about her in my head and with the odd scribble or three about them, Quin returned in full force to be the co-character in Keir. And while I might be showing my age a little, Quin had matured but never quite grown up from the teenage spitfire that had debuted in that old Doctor Who story. Her sense of injustice over the way Keir is treated by his own society leads her to take a gamble on helping him. Even when it later becomes apparent that he really is something to fear, she refuses to step back. Part of it is her own sheer stubbornness, but also her belief that there is good in everyone, something that gives Keir himself hope when it seems all else is lost.

Of course Quin isn’t exactly like me - I wouldn’t be that cruel. Her ‘lifestyle’ means she’s probably fitter than me. She’s kept her hair long while I chopped mine a decade ago. Despite living in a high-tech base and having the ability to travel anywhere in time and space, she freely admits to not knowing how most of it works. And she’s a darn sight braver than me too.

So, to meet Quin in her full glory by winning an ebook copy of Keir, please comment below with your email address and tell me whether any of your heroes/heroines are a version of you, and if so how close to home? Or if you’re a reader rather than a writer, do you ever wonder how many of the characters in your favourite books are completely fictional, or whether they might be someone the author knows?

You can also stop by the other blogs on the tour by checking them out on the list here, and there’s a special prize up for grabs on my own blog here to celebrate Keir’s release on the 7th May, available internationally. All prizes will be drawn after midnight BST (in the UK) on the 14th May. But if you simply can’t wait to find out if you’ve won a copy, all new releases from Lyrical Press Inc are 30% off for the first week after release.

Keir - a science-fiction romance available 7th May 2012 from Lyrical Press Inc:


Blurb:
Outcast. Cursed. Dying. Is Keir beyond redemption?

For Keirlan de Corizi--the legendary 'Blue Demon' of Adalucien--death seems the only escape from a world where his discolored skin marks him as an oddity and condemns him to life as a pariah. But salvation comes in an unexpected guise: Tarquin Secker, a young woman who can travel the stars with a wave of her hand.

But Quin has secrets of her own. She's spent eternity searching through space and time with a strange band of companions at her back. Defying her friends' counsel, Quin risks her apparent immortality to save Keir. She offers him sanctuary and a new life on her home world, Lyagnius.

When Keir mistakenly unleashes his dormant alien powers and earns instant exile from Quin's home world, will she risk everything to stand by him again?

Book Trailer:


Personal Bio:

A stay-at-home mum of three who spent twelve years working as an Analytical Chemist in a Metals and Minerals laboratory, Pippa Jay bases her stories on a lifetime addiction to science-fiction books and films. Somewhere along the line a touch of romance crept into her work and refused to leave. Between torturing her characters, she spends the odd free moments trying to learn guitar, indulging in freestyle street dance and drinking high-caffeine coffee. Although happily settled in historical Colchester in the UK with her husband of 18 years, she continues to roam the rest of the Universe in her head.

Links:
Blogsite: http://pippajay.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @pippajaygreen http://twitter.com/pippajaygreen
Facebook: Keir - Beyond Redemption (book page) https://www.facebook.com/pages/Keir-Beyond-Redemption/114058821953752
Pippa Jay (profile) https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001581482219
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5054558.Pippa_Jay