Thursday 13 January 2011

Introducing Billi SanGreal

Okay, some of you will have already met Billi, but this is for those in the US who have as yet not had the opportunity to meet her in Dark Goddess, since it comes out on the 25th.
For those of you unfamiliar (sign, there are such people in the world) with Billi, let me give you a few details.
1. She's fifteen and has had a unique unbringing. Her home-schooling program includes swordfighting, unarmed combat and occult lore.
2. Her favourite things are her 160GB Classic iPod, hanging out with friends, and kicking Unholy ass. She specializes in fallen angels and werewolves.
3. You do not want to be romantically involved with her. She has a fatal effect on boyfriends.
4. She will be taking ass-kicking to whole new levels in Dark Goddess.
5. In the new book she meets a Russian prince, Ivan Alexeivich Romanov (who should have paid more attention to item 3).
6. Her father, Arthur, was tried for the murder of Billi's mother. He's an ex-Royal Marine and just this side of psycho. He falls under the title of 'Very Bad Parent Indeed'. He's the one mortal the Devil himself fears.
7. Billi's a lot like her father.
Devil's Kiss was set in London, my home city. It was the perfect setting for the first book, grim, ancient, gothic. But I didn't want to repeat myself in book 2 so the action moves to Russia, to Moscow. Now that's a damn awesome city in it's own right. Very different to London, which is a walkable city. Moscow is MASSIVE. Monolithic and gloriously imperial. If Devil's Kiss was urban fantasy, Dark Goddess is my dark fairy tale. It's my Red Riding Hood myth. That's why Billi wars the red on the cover. She's the red the wolves should be afraid of.
Now, don't believe it's all about swordfighting and extreme violence! I have to tell you about the new boy in Billi's life, Tsarevich Ivan Alexeivich Romanov. Grey-eyed, elegant, cultured and extremely deadly he's heir to the Romanov throne and an exceptional warrior in his own right. Billi and he could do great things, if they don't kill one another first.
I'm madly excited about Dark Goddess. Billi's a changed girl from Devil's Kiss and her relationships in a mess, she's torn up by what happened, by what she did. But the stakes are higher than ever. An ancient evil has awoken, a goddess that has been feared by mankind since he lived in the caves. I'll tell you about her later...

4 comments:

jyoti said...

Great If read it and can't wait to read Dark Godess!

Anonymous said...

I live in the US, but you were awesome enough to send me a SIGNED copy of Dark Goddess already (I won it in the contest). For anyone who hasn't read it, IT'S AMAZING!! I think I liked it even better than Devil's Kiss, which I was rather fond of. BUY THIS BOOK PEOPLE!!!!

Ginny said...

I just finished this book today. Oh my gosh. If possible I think I love it more than the first! And thank you thank you for incorporating Baba Yaga and Vasilisa into the story. I've been on such a Baba Yaga kick for the past few months.

I am eagerly waiting and hoping for more of Billi (and Ivan).

Rita said...

I loved this book! I read it in one day, I could not put it down. I can't wait until the next one!