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Special Feature – Ariel Dawn: Join The Hunt!

Join The Hunt!

What do you get when you take Supernatural, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and mix it with a dash of Grimm and Shadow Hunters?

Why, you get The Hunter Games by Ariel Dawn, of course!

Some of you may be familiar with Malcolm Crowley and his band of misfit hunters (including his pain in the ass sister) from the Ava Crowley, Vampire Slayer Series, and some of you may be asking who the fuck is Ava?

Well, I’m glad you asked! Ava Crowley is the perfect blend of Dean Winchester & Buffy Summers, trained by her brother Mal and his partner Jake Dallas to be a badass slayer. While she has her own series that follows her and Cassius, the vampire who saved her life, Malcolm, Jake, Tito, Hunter, and Vinny are badass slayers in their own right. When they aren’t taking down vamps and other creatures of the night, they can be found performing metal and rock covers in dive bars as the band Blood Of My Enemy. 

While the Ava Crowley, Vampire Slayer Series and The Hunter Games Series can be read together as one interconnected series, they can also be read independently of one another. Buf if you love to BINGE series in order like me, I have you covered!

You’ll want to start with Blood & Bones, Ava Crowley #1
https://books2read.com/Slayer1

Then you’ll definitely want to follow Ava & Mal to TerrorCon and  binge Blood & Lust, Ava Crowley #2
https://books2read.com/Slayer2

After that, you’ll need to follow Mal, Dallas, and the boys on a hunt in the mountains of North Carolina on a hunt in Blood Of My Enemy, The Hunter Games #1 https://books2read.com/THG1

Then the fire really starts to catch in Blood & Ash, which you should read before diving into Blood Of The Lost.
https://books2read.com/Slayer3

Then enter a world unseen- where we flip the script and follow a hunter turned monster on a journey unlike no other in Blood Of The Lost.

https://books2read.com/THG2 

Now that you know the reading order, and the gist of this addicting series, let’s get to the fun stuff!

How did you come up with the series? 

I grew up fascinated with watching shows like Supernatural, Buffy, Angel, and even Grimm. When I started writing in 2020, my second book was a vampire romance that paid homage to all of the above. It was called In The Blood, and it is still available currently as part of the Forevermore Series, which is actually the parent series to both Ava and Mal’s series. When I was writing Ava, I knew she needed a snarky, pain in the ass brother. Mal and Ava aren’t close in age, they are about eleven years apart. I am an only child, so I’ve never had siblings. The relationship between Mal and Ava is one formed out of love and trauma, as they both lost their parents and have had to endure a lot in their lives. In In The Blood, Mal isn’t the nicest brother. He’s actually a bit of an ass. But as I continued writing Ava’s books, I started to dig deeper, Mal started to really reveal himself to me, and I knew I needed to share the man beneath the mask of blood.

You mentioned fan favorite Dallas as a part of the Hunter Games Series. Does he get his own book?

Yes! When I introduced Dallas to the Ava series, I really hadn’t expected readers to fall head over heels for him. But they did! Much in the way Spike was introduced the Buffy, the writers kept him because fans loved him, I knew  as I continued to write Ava’s books and uncovered Dallas’s past traumas that he needed to have his own book. That’s really how the Hunter Games was born. Mal, Dallas, and the boys needed to tell their stories of loss, love, and hope, and Dallas’s story is full of those things. Like Mal, there is a scarred man underneath all the weapons and tattoos.

Should readers read Ava’s series first?

I recommend readers check out Ava’s series first, that way they are familiar with the characters and the world they take place in, and some of the storylines do carry over into The Hunter Games series. However, with that being said, you can read the Hunter Games by itself, as the series mostly centers around the hunters and their adventures away from Ava, Cas, and the town of Chester.

How many books do you have planned for this series?

There will be 3 more books in The Hunter Games Series, and at least 1 more book in the Ava Crowley, Vampire Slayer Series. The parent series, Forevermore will have 2 more books.

You mentioned Forevermore as a “parent” series. Can you elaborate on that?

When I started writing my first book, In The Cards (which is free on all platforms), I had no idea it was going to be a series. I wrote In The Blood shortly after that, and knew then it was going to be a series. Initially, the Forevermore Series was supposed to be a 7 book series, but somewhere along the way as I wrote these characters, readers started to really respond to Ava & Cas, and I ended up giving them their own series, and through that I ended up giving Mal and the hunters their own series and it sort of became this universe all on its own. I look at these tiered series sort of like Marvel’s Cinematic Universe. Marvel put out their massive storyline in “phases”, and to me, the Forevermore World is 3 Acts.

You can check out the “Acts” in their chronological order below.

What else are you working on currently? What can readers hope to see from you in the future?

I write like it’s going out of style, so currently on my schedule I have 7 or 8 more books to write and publish before the year is over! I’m currently working on some shared world projects, both paranormal. I am also working on some series continuations, such as Hell Everlasting, the second book in my Lost Souls Series, In The Night, the 6th Forevermore book, and Earth Shaker, the sequel to the first book in my Elementalist Saga, Storm Bringer. Next year I have a bit of a shorter schedule as I work on wrapping up some series and starting some new ones, so stay tuned for that! I also have more books coming in the Speed Dating with the Denizens of the Underworld Series!

New Release · Release Blitz

Holtondome (Timeless Keeper Saga Book 1) by Ryan Southwick – New Release

Holtondome (Timeless Keeper Saga Book 1) by Ryan Southwick is now available!

~Synopsis~

Seg Holton yearns to leave his isolated farming dome and travel the ravaged Earth, or even to Mars Colony. Only a few things stand in his way: an authoritarian government, deadly storms, and an enchanting outsider who may be the most dangerous of all.

Fast-forward 500 years. Civilization has nearly wiped itself out of existence, and is on the long, slow road to recovery, held together by an agreement called the Pact between cities, agricultural domes, and a new global government.

Seg is a farmer in Holtondome. Like his ancestors, he’s chosen a life of ignorance about technology and the outside world in favor of a simple existence, free of the corruption that almost destroyed the human race.

His world turns upside down when Fi arrives. Tall, exotic, and far too wise for her age, she challenges everything he’s been taught to believe, making him question for the first time if a simple life is right for him or, indeed, for the rest of humanity.

But Fi has secrets darker than her black-ringed eyes — bigger than the Pact — that have implications far beyond Seg and the residents of Holtondome.

If you enjoyed Doctor Who, Firefly, or Hunger Games, then Holtondome is sure to please!

Gift with Purchase are available as well!

https://www.ryansouthwickauthor.com/holtondome

 

Feature · Giveaway

Tamales and Books!

Bienvendios Décembre!

I’m happy and excited to be a part of the 12 Bookish Days of Christmas blog hop hosted by YA Sci-Fi & Fantasy Addicts. Each post has a little goodie and a chance to win the MEGA GIVEAWAY!

12 Days of Christmas
Day 1 – YA Christmas Reads + Sweets
Day 1 Bonus – Hosting a Secret Santa Gift Exchange with Your Bookish Friends
Day 2 – Gift Ideas for Friends who Read
Day 3 –  Found Family Trope Reads
Day 4 – White Stag Review + Decadent Vegan Hot Cocoa Recipe
Day 5 – Book Room Christmas Decor + Favorite Christmas Reads
Day 6 – 12 Favorite Fantasy Books of the Year
Day 7 – A Christmas Playlist to Read To
Day 7 Bonus – Christmas Traditions + Favorite Holiday Reads
Day 8 – Tamales and Books!
Day 9 – Winter Book Review: Wicked Lovely
Day 10 – Derby Pie and Fond Memories
Day 11 – Mistletoe Myths & Stories
Day 12 – A Soul as Cold as Frost Review + Coffee Recipe
Day 12 Bonus – Tea Pairings & Winter-Themed Books
Wrap-Up – All the Stocking Stuffers + Big Giveaway

 

Tamales

Tamale season is upon us! Making tamales during this time of year is a tradition in my family. Nothing like curling up on a comfy chair with a plate of steaming hot tamales and a book! Every family has their own recipe and their own way of making them. What doesn’t change is the family all coming together. Sharing laughs and catching up while making tasty pockets of goodness! I have a lot of special holiday memories and they all have tamales and books in them.

Photos by Laura Trujillo

Books To Read During Tamale Season

Weep, Woman, Weep: A Gothic Fairytale about Ancestral Hauntings by Maria DeBlassie

Mistletoe Season (The Carolina Girls) by Michelle Major

A Very Avynwood Christmas (Paranormals of Avynwood) by Michelle Dare

 

MEGA GIVEAWAY

Click here for a chance to the mega bookish giveaway with over $600 worth of books, merch, and gift cards!

https://kingsumo.com/g/s5ixly/ya-sci-fi-and-fantasy-addicts-winter-giveaway