The Deadly Reckonings – Book Excerpt

Hello friend! Welcome to a very special author(s) interview and book excerpt today – how awesome is it that my posting date aligns with the birthday of writers! Today I am chatting about The Deadly Reckonings with author-sisters Rebecca Heap and Victoria Heap. This is the first book of The Tribes of Feralis series. Let’s welcome them!

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Get to know the authors: Rebecca & Victoria

Welcome Rebecca and Victoria! Tell me and my readers a bit about yourself!

Rebecca: I have always loved the written word and my favourite time at school was when we were asked to write a story. The irony is, I failed to get the expected “A” in my English Lit A-Level as I ran out of time because I was too busy writing long, wordy answers! I like reading all sorts of genres from horror, like Joe Hill, Douglas Clegg, and Stephen King to historical romance, like Sherry Thomas and Laura Kinsale. I also enjoy watching sci-fi and horror movies. I like to keep fit by going swimming every week with a friend and my mother-in-law (I know it’s probably quite rare, but I am very good friends with her!). Now I have an electric bike, I enjoy cycling quite regularly, often with my dad. I am very busy at home, as I have 3 foster daughters, 4 biological children and a socially awkward cat called Maisie. I also somehow find time to keep writing and to send out a fortnightly author newsletter – we now have over 5000 subscribers.

 Victoria: I love reading, especially epic fantasy stories like Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings, and watching crime thrillers with my teenage sons. I enjoy singing and am a member of a local community choir. I work full time, at present, as an Adult Social Care solicitor and enjoy my job but prefer spending any free time writing and escaping into the limitless worlds of my imagination. Rebecca and I self-published our first books, thrilling suspense duology, Dark Betrayal and Dark Secrets. We are thrilled to be with Odyssey Books for our latest labour of love, epic, romantic fantasy trilogy, The Tribes of Feralis. If you come to read about the animalistic world we have created, you may gather that we are “cat people”. We grew up with a lovely little tabby who was an intrinsic part of our childhood and I now own two beautiful, big, ever-hungry male cats called Bert and Ernie!

The Deadly Reckonings is the first book in an all-new epic adventure fantasy series called The Tribes of Feralis. Tell me about the series and what inspired you both to pursue it?

Rebecca: As a child, I loved reading myths about creatures such as the Minotaur and the Griffin. I have always loved the idea of metamorphosis and I briefly studied the Classics at University and Ovid’s epic poem “Metamorphoses.” I began to develop an idea about a primitive world where men can transform into a hybrid of a mastered but influential spirit animal and where a woman suddenly inherits this ability and upsets the normal balance of things.

 Victoria: I had an idea about a woman masquerading as a man and infiltrating a military school on a mission of revenge but unexpectedly falling for the captain and being unable to reveal her true feelings. (This concept is developed in Book Two). We managed to combine our two distinct ideas and the story has now morphed into a full series of fantasy novels. We have always loved animals, especially cats, so that is why we imagined a world where an animal aspect was a normal part of their being. But we also liked the idea of there being conflict between the animal and human sides of their natures, which is a common theme in the story, and which is also why we came up with the idea of the Lost Ones (huge beasts who were previously men but who lost the battle with their animal spirit and so are unable to revert to human form.)

How long did it take you to write the first book, from the first idea to the last edit?

Rebecca: That’s an interesting question! We actually wrote most of Book Two first but then Devlin’s story (the main heroine’s brother) became this huge, amazing thing and we realised he needed and deserved a book of his own! But, to answer the question (told you I can get wordy!), I’d say it took about 5 years, but we had written most of Book Two as well by the time we finished writing Book One.

Victoria:  It probably took a bit longer than writing a book alone, as it was challenging to find the time in our busy lives to get together regularly and Covid did not help matters! Google Docs was a great discovery for us as, before, we used to end up emailing different versions back and forth and would sometimes forget which was the latest one (or forget to save it)! However, we may have actually saved some time writing together as, before we even present our work to anyone else, a different person has already critiqued it and edited it.

What makes your story unique? How have your individual experiences shaped the book?

Rebecca: I have read books about shifters but I find that these often follow the same old tropes and I wanted a unique spin on this. I also saw how the end of the TV serialisation of Game of Thrones left a huge void in people’s lives. I think heroic fantasy can really get under your skin and tear at your emotions – I used to get so engrossed in books like this when I was younger, such as Tamora Pierce’s Song of the Lioness series and Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern series. I wanted us to write something that would appease that desire people have for escapism but also that desire to fully connect with the joys and tragedies of the human condition. 

Victoria: I’ve always loved a bit of romance but romances can become quite bland and predictable. Our story has a strong romantic element but also explores darker issues of racial discrimination, female oppression and the power struggles within a primitive society. 

I also love the notion of heroes and villains with powers beyond their human abilities, seen in franchises such as “X-men” and “Avengers.” One of my favourite fairy tales as a child (and even now as an adult) is “Beauty and the Beast”. This led me to want to develop a story about beautiful, animalistic beings but in world that has some of the same challenges as our own when it comes to discrimination and prejudice.

What is it like writing a book together? Tell me about your process of working together on the story!

Rebecca: We do try to plan what we write a little and obviously we have to confer a lot with each other! We sometimes disagree but not very often and we always manage to work it out. We do get passionate about our characters and story ideas. We often surprise each other – in a good way! We both often find that we have decided on a plot line and, as we write, our writing or the character decides to take it somewhere else! We never seem to have writer’s block – we both sometimes have the opposite and have to cut down a bit on excessive vocabulary. We do sometimes come across “plot block” where we have to work out where the plot is going or how to get a character out of a sticky situation we have written them into while still keeping things believable! What is great about writing together is that we can have brainstorming sessions and we never feel alone on our writing journey. We are each other’s greatest critic but also each other’s greatest supporter.

Victoria: We would outline the story from beginning to end together-it helps that you have to write a synopsis when putting your book before potential publishers so we would always start with this, brainstorming different ideas and directions it might take. Then, rather than write a chapter each, say, we would discuss who would write certain scenes, like acts in a play- that is how I’d visualise the story and it would run in my head. It was then just a case of getting it from my head to paper so people could see what I saw scrolling through my inner eye. One scene/part of the story could span several chapters. Once finished we’d come together and edit and critique it -making sure our scenes and direction of travel fit together and sometimes finding stronger words/ways of describing what was happening or coming up with new ideas that would work better or make it more exciting..

What was the most challenging part of writing an epic fantasy set on a different planet, Feralis? What areas did you end up researching the most for building the world and your characters?

Rebecca: We did some research into cosmology to learn how the seasons etc on a planet with two suns might work and how the suns would orbit around it. This is where we got the idea of there being very cold winters and extremely hot summers (on Feralis, days during winter are called mal days and in summer are called sol days. And because the suns are so important for their survival, the people of Feralis measure their years in “summers”) We know that there may be some scientifically-minded people who read the books and we wanted to try and make the world of Feralis as believable as possible! We also wanted all the names to mean something. We wanted the tribal names to have some basis in language and to sound pretty similar (i.e. all end in an a) to make things a little easier for the reader. Many of them are derived from the word for the animal in a different language as follows:

Ulvaria –  The name Ulva in German means “wolf” and derives from the Old Norse name “úlfr”.

Arturia – Art meant the ‘bear’ in Celtic languages. The name derives from Proto-Celtic artos (“bear”).

Reptilia – is pretty obvious we think!

Khatoolia – Katu is ‘cat’ in Armenian and we extrapolated it from that!

Skylaria – bird in a lot of languages begins with a vowel and we wanted a different first letter for this tribe. We thought of what is associated with birds instead – sky!

Feralis – has the word “feral” as its root, meaning “in a wild state”.

Even the roots of most of the people’s names have a meaning that reflects them or their character. For example:

Arik – has its roots in Old Norse and Hebrew, and the meaning is “lion of God”.

Kyra – of Persian origin meaning “throne” or derived from the word khur, meaning “sun”.

Terrell – a name of English origin that means “stubborn animal”!

Devlin – a name of Irish origin meaning “fierce courage” (and another word but I’m reluctant to tell you what that is as it may be a spoiler!)

Victoria: The first challenge was making sure we knew what the world looked like first, how the suns worked together and mapping it out so we knew where everything was in relation to each other, east from west etc. Then we need to come up with the different names and descriptions for the homesteads and tribal seats of power for each tribe and how their belief system worked.The next challenge was making sure the world and some of the language that was different could be understood by the reader whilst not boring everyone to death with heavy tracts of description or explanation. Hopefully, we’ve achieved this through some of the dialogue, thoughts and interaction of the characters. The areas we researched most were things like how two suns might affect the seasons of a planet and what kind of habitat and food might appeal most to each tribe and the animal they were associated with and what typical behaviours they might exhibit. We also did quite a bit of research into how the science might work in terms of how Kyra’s twin might realistically pass on his animal spirit in the womb.

Who would enjoy reading your book?

Rebecca: I think that people of all ages will enjoy reading our book but particularly younger adults. One of our ARC readers has already pointed out how it will appeal to lovers of Hunger Games, Maze Runner and Divergent. I also think it will be enjoyed by readers who like epic fantasy and fantasy with darker themes. I had never heard of this word before but another ARC reader told me that it fits under the genre “noblebright” fantasy. I really like this word and it is a subgenre of fantasy fiction involving a heroic quest and good triumphing over evil. All our books have a strong romantic element and I also think that the book will appeal to romance readers who want something with more meat on its bones and don’t want to just read something generic that is written to market.

Victoria:We expect Tribes to appeal to the same audience who like the “Divergent” trilogy and “The Daughter of Smoke and Bone” series, which have some similar themes, such as enmity between different factions and a girl who feels like a misfit. I think it will also appeal to those who enjoy a bit of romance but who want to read something with a little more depth to it.

What’s something you hope readers would take away from it?

Rebecca: I hope it makes people laugh and cry. I hope that they will become immersed in our world and be keen to read the next book! I hope that it will bring some escapism and happiness to readers because we all need something to sweep us away from the worries of everyday life at the moment. I also hope it will remind readers of the power of love, the courage people can show against tremendous adversity and the need to treat all human beings equally.

Victoria: I’d hope readers would take away a feeling of being thoroughly enthralled and feel a bit emotional at the end. I’d hope they’d feel as invested in the characters and their stories as we do and would be desperate to read what happens next, especially with Kyra, Devlin’s sister, whose story begins in the next book.

Do you have a favourite quote or scene in the book that you find yourself going back to?

Rebecca: I have to confess that I do love going back and re-reading many parts of the book. Hopefully this is a good thing – I don’t understand writers who don’t like reading their own work. How can you expect readers to love it, if you don’t?! There are a lot to choose from but one of my favourite scenes is in Chapter Nine when Devlin meets Riva because their love story is so bittersweet and that fateful encounter has such an impact on Devlin and the ripple effects are seen across, not just Book One, but over the rest of the series.

I also like Devlin’s encounter with the siren in the swamplands, which is completely different to the romantic elements of the story that I mentioned above and harks back to my love of horror fiction! My favourite quote from this is:

He realised that he could see through her, as if she was some kind of apparition. Her mouth opened to reveal an absurdly long, phosphorescent tongue and he suddenly, joltingly, comprehended what she was. But he was too late. The creature, or siren, as he now knew it to be, moved stunningly fast. Its tongue lashed out like a whip and wrapped around him, pinning his arms to his sides. His body immediately went rigid, as though galvanised with electricity, his jaw clamping down so hard that his gums bled. The pain was excruciating but mercifully brief.

Victoria: A little sad when you’re the author, but I’ve read all three of the books in our series several times over, as they continue to grip me and I like to bring the characters back to life again in my imagination. My favourite scene I think is Kyra’s transformation, when she battles to gain dominance over her cat spirit and surprises Arik and Devlin by defeating it. 

Choosing my favourite quote is a difficult one but I’d say it’s this one, when Devlin shows his cat again to Riva:

Slowly he let his cat emerge and watched as her face changed in response to the change in his, brightening with amazement. Her otherworldly beauty stopped his heart, but then it started galloping again, when she raised a hand to stroke with fascination the contours of his feline face.

As you can probably tell I love the descriptive parts of our book that describe the animal transformations.

Have you already started working on the second book in the series?

Rebecca: As we said before, we started Book Two right at the beginning and got sidelined by Devlin into writing his story! When we finished Book One and continued with the second book, it was probably the easiest book in the series to complete because Kyra, the main heroine, had always had a really strong narrative in our heads. We have just finished writing Book Three, which was harder but also really satisfying to write, and both books have already gone out to beta readers! Our publisher, Odyssey Books, is aiming to get Book Two released by January/February 2023.

Victoria: Oh yes, the second book is finished, as is the third. They just need reviewing and editing by our publisher!

If you could give a shout out to someone(s) who has helped in your writer journey, please feel free to mention them below!

Rebecca: I’d give a shout out to my husband and my children who have been really patient, never moaned when I’ve needed time with my sister, and have learnt not to ask me anything when I’m writing as I just won’t hear them! I would also shout out to our wonderful beta readers who spent a lot of time reading and critiquing the book, pointed out things we could improve on or little anomalies we would never have noticed. They are Catherine, Stephen, Ellen, Violet, Colette and Aayushi. One last shout out to a lady called Jammie, who gave a fabulous first ARC reader review and is fast becoming our no.1 fan!

Victoria: I’d give a shout out to my husband, Chris, as he has had to put up with a lot of time away from me, when I’ve been working on the book, or just been away in my own head and not listening to anything he’s saying! I’d also like to thank Angharad Kowal at Stannus agency who gave us some invaluable and thorough feedback, especially about world building, when we’d finished our first ever draft. Whilst she didn’t offer to represent us, her positive comments helped us to keep us believing in ourselves. I couldn’t not give a shout out as well to Michelle Lovi, at Odyssey Books, who did believe in us and our work and has been so supportive as our publisher, helping to make Book One the best it can be.

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Book Excerpt from
The Deadly Reckonings

Devlin moved through the crowds, pausing to watch a group of girls as they sat chattering and making garlands. Though women were not allowed to choose their mate, bestowing one of these flowery necklaces on a potential suitor was a way of showing their partiality. He smiled when he thought of his sister, Kyra, taking part in such a pastime. Creator have mercy, she’d sooner stick pins in her eyes! A petite, blonde-haired girl stood up with a finished garland and fixed her eyes on him. He moved away fast, almost tripping over two young boys as they raced and swerved around the legs of the adults, faces screwed up and fingers outstretched to mimic the animals they would later acquire, growling and giggling.

The laughter and general noise grew ever louder. Devlin wished someone had thought to add a little music. There would be dancing later and some form of raucous accompaniment, likely to be drums of some sort, but no singing. Riva’s naturally musical voice echoed in his mind. The Skylaria were musical. He knew that much about them, now. Many would have forgotten or chosen not to remember any contribution they made to society. Devlin couldn’t hold a note to save his life. Neither could most of the other Feralians. They had gained peace when the wars ended but, without the Skylaria, life had lost its music.

He passed a tent and heard a different kind of music being made. He couldn’t help glancing through the window. He recognised the caramel-coloured hair and skin of a Khatoolian from his village, Davy or ‘Toffee’ as he was known. He smiled. Good for him. He hoped he had found a true mate. Creator knew his young son needed a mother in his life.

He made his way towards the main assembly point. Sigurd and his Enforcers were separating the men into groups, taking care to ensure that each group was not too heavily weighted with one particular tribe or another. This festival was supposed to be a celebration of their unity after all. Devlin found it slightly paradoxical that this, the Summer Solstice, actually marked the divergence rather than the convergence of their twin suns. But the cold was so extreme during the Winter solstice, when an eclipse occurred, that it was impossible to hold any kind of outdoor event then.

He saw a heavy length of rope lying on the ground. The tug of war competition must be starting. Symon, the Reptilian, was talking in one group. He made a high-pitched noise, a screeching laugh that made Devlin’s skin itch. He decided not to take part in this contest. The golden Major sun was now blazing down from the sky, in all its fiery glory, and there was only a breath of wind. It was too hot to get too competitive and he was exhausted. He was happy to remain a spectator.

Devlin laughed along with everyone else when an unsteady Khatoolian, at the front of what looked to be the winning side, slipped and fell on his back in the dust, losing his team the tug of war. As the prizes were golden tankards, engraved with the Alpha’s profile and filled with wine, it was perhaps just as well; the Khatoolian had clearly had enough to drink already. But it didn’t stop him staggering away towards the refreshment tent, muttering about “Just having one more.” Devlin didn’t envy him the splitting headache he was sure to have on the morrow.

After eating and taking part in some idle and not so idle banter, Devlin headed home. He didn’t feel like joining in with the dancing. It was late in the day and the Major sun was now starting to set. It was unlikely he would get any sleep tonight, as darkness didn’t really fall at all on Solstice Day.  He fancied doing a bit of fishing by the lake and listening to the sound of the confused birds as the sky faded briefly to a provocative purple, only to lighten to orange again with the return of the Minor sun.

As he reached the ring of trees that marked the edge of their village, he heard shouting.

There was a fevered urgency and ferocity to the sound. This was not the sound of light-hearted squabbling or blustering. It left a vibration in the air like a static charge, disturbing his cat and making his fur spike.

He increased his speed and headed towards the uproar that seemed to be coming from the direction of the village circle. Their settlement was arranged around a large, circular area, carpeted with tree bark, that was used for various community gatherings, such as binding ceremonies. At this moment, it didn’t look like it was being used for anything even vaguely celebratory. Their current Guardian, Virgil, and his Enforcers were standing on a wooden platform.

From this distance, Devlin could not see what was being said but their body language could only be interpreted as hostile. What were the scumbags up to now? He hated the way their lives were governed. At least their Guardian was no longer Sylas, who had taken a place at the Citadel in Carvell after taking his mother. Cowardly, backstabbing, bottom-crawler that he was. Sylas must have known that Arik would kill him if he returned to their settlement. But Devlin couldn’t say his replacement was much of an improvement.

Their new Guardian, Virgil, had seemed alright at first. No Guardian could be popular, not when he was responsible for creaming off the best of everything the village produced for the Alpha. But Virgil had seemed friendly and genuinely interested in integrating with them. In the end, though, how could you expect a man that shared his nature with lizard spawn to remain uncorrupted? Especially one who had to enforce laws that were often arbitrary and cruel.

Devlin pushed his way through the gathered crowd to get a better view. In between two of the Enforcers, stood a Khatoolian male. It was Toffee. He was older than Devlin but smaller in build, strong but wiry, his eyes the exact same colour as his skin and hair. His cat had similar toffee coloured fur, unadulterated by any kind of darker markings, thus earning him his nickname. He was just within the eligible age and Devlin knew he had every intention of entering the DedRecks. At this moment, his cat was nowhere in evidence and his skin was pale and sweaty with fear.

Toffee’s arms were tied behind his back and the Enforcers on each side of him had a tight grip on his biceps. Enforcers! Devlin scoffed. They were all just common thugs. They weren’t highly trained or respected like the Royal Guardsmen who protected the Alpha and the border posts. The Reptilian Guardians got to choose their own band of Enforcers. This usually meant they chose other Reptilia but that wasn’t always the case. Some men within the tribal villages would do almost anything in exchange for a position within their Guardian’s cohort. One of the men gripping Toffee’s arm was Reptilian but the other was a fellow Khatoolian. He was transformed, his face and arms covered in amber fur, darker stripes radiating out along his cheeks and arms, his cobalt eyes hard and menacing. This was Kane. Devlin hated him, as did everyone within the village, even more than Virgil. Kane must have thought it was an acceptable price to pay for the status and privileges he received.

“This man has committed a heinous crime!” declared Virgil. “My lifemate, Hana, was attacked by him, defiled by him! What greater crime can there be against another man’s property?”

Everyone knew Hana. Virgil had other mates, as was common with the Reptilia, but none as beautiful as Hana. And, by the Creator, didn’t she know it. She flirted with all the men in the village.

Is that who Toffee had been with at the festival? From what Devlin had seen and heard, he was certain it had been consensual.

“What should be his punishment?” Virgil continued, “Death or castration?”

A couple of individuals in the crowd roared encouragement but the majority gasped or muttered nervously.

Devlin scanned the crowd to see if he could see the woman in question, but the one that caught his eye was Toffee’s young son, Kevan.

“Papa!” the boy cried. “Please don’t hurt my Pa!”

The boy had lost his mother in an accident a couple of summers ago. What would happen to him if he lost his father too? Devlin felt ill. All the emotions he had felt when his mother was taken from him came flooding back. His cat growled in sympathy. He could not stand by and just watch this happen. He was sick of doing that. Sick of feeling utterly helpless.

“Don’t do this!” he roared. “Please! This man has a son!”

Toffee’s head turned at the sound of Devlin’s voice. A blighted kind of hope filled his eyes. “I did not force her,” he said. “You know me, Devlin. You know I would never do such a thing. Please tell them!”

Devlin walked forwards to the edge of the platform. “I can vouch for this man,” he said. “Are you sure he has done what you say?”

Virgil’s head whipped towards him. “What are you suggesting? That my lifemate would dishonour me? With this piece of cat puke?”

 “We love each other!” Toffee defended.

He looked beseechingly at Hana, who Devlin now saw lurking in the shadows of the stage. Her dark eyes held no sympathy, her generous lips were pursed, her face set like one of the statues in the Holy Temple, exquisitely sculpted but cold as stone.

She leaned forwards and spat on the floor. “He is lying!” she sneered. “The Khatoolian assaulted me! I only love Virgil. I have only ever loved Virgil.”

Toffee sagged and the hope in his eyes went out like a savagely snuffed candle. His cat now revealed itself, reacting to the futility of his situation, surging from his features as though pushing for release from its human cage.

Devlin gazed at Hana in shock. How could a woman do this to a man who loved her? He looked at the smug grin on Virgil’s thin face. Had he put her up to it? Could this be a ploy by the Reptilia to get rid of some of their competition in the DedRecks? Yet Toffee must have known the risk he was taking.

  Before anyone could do anything more, Virgil spoke an instruction to the Enforcers. Toffee struggled briefly, his lips drawn back to reveal a desperate snarl. But his resistance was too little, too late. Clawed hands flashed. The Reptilian’s claws sank into Toffee’s chest as Kane viciously ripped out his throat. Blood spurted.

A gasp went up. A small minority cheered.

“No!” Devlin cried, leaping up onto the wooden platform.

He caught Toffee as he fell forwards, a horrible, bubbling sound coming from his mouth, his body thrashing in protest as his life rapidly departed.

Kevan screamed. His scream continued on and on, rising and falling, a lament of despair and grief so chilling that it cut through the babble until everyone, even the rabble rousers, fell silent. A woman nearby rushed to console him but his cries just seemed to grow louder. Devlin looked at the boy and saw a reflection of his younger self. Tears sprang to his eyes.

Devlin turned to Virgil. “Why?!” he asked, his voice hoarse with condemnation. “You did not have to kill him! His son has no one else.”

“He took what was mine,” Virgil countered, his pale eyes hard and glittering. “He admitted that much. I could have had him tortured for what he did. A quick death was a mercy.” He stepped down from the platform, his Enforcers following.

“Fetch the boy,” he ordered, as an afterthought. “He may be of use to me.”  Had he managed to inspire some compassion in him or was he making sure the boy did not grow into a threat?

Kane stepped over to inflict a parting remark. “The only reason he hasn’t had you punished for your impudence is because of your victory in the hunt today,” he said.  Bending closer to Devlin he spat, “You’d better watch your step in future.”

Devlin could feel himself shaking with anger. He wanted to lash out, kill the Guardian and his aides and all they stood for. It took an almighty effort to restrain his frenzied cat. The strain of it made him feel nauseous.

Kane straightened when he realised Devlin wasn’t going to react to his goading. His broad tongue flicked out to lick the blood from his hand, his mouth curling into a self-satisfied sneer. Devlin turned away in disgust.

He swept a hand over Toffee’s face, closing the once lively eyes that were now fixed and unseeing. He lowered him gently to the floor. “May your ancestors welcome you,” he whispered. He could feel himself still shaking. His cat yowled. Thank the Creator, the time of Reptilian dominance would soon be over. One way or another, he would make sure of it.

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Interested?

Find The Deadly Reckonings on Goodreads, Books2Read and Amazon.

Thanks for joining me with Rebecca and Victoria. Join their mailing list to stay connected. You can also follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Find Rebecca on Amazon and Goodreads. Victoria also has her author profiles on Amazon and Goodreads.

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Cover Photo by vaun0815 on Unsplash