Literary Nymphs Interview
Title:
LAKOTA HONOR
Author: Kat Flannery
Publisher:
Imajin Books
Genre:
Paranormal historical western romance
Release
Date: May 30, 2013
Do you write in more than
one genre?
I
do. The best part about writing fiction is the ability to cross genres.
Historical fiction is my first love because I enjoy the research and taking my
readers back in time. With historical as my main genre, I’m also able to add
whatever subgenre I’d like and lately that’s been a few of them. Western and paranormal
are both favorites to write too.
What if any, is the hardest
part of writing for you?
I’d
have to say the first draft. I despise it. I try to get it written as quickly
as possible. The revisions are where I like to take my time and add little intricate
details to my plot, and backstory. I love to put in the foreshadowing and
develop my characters more. I can spend hours molding scene and loving every
minute of it.
What inspired the story?
Don’t
judge a book by its cover. I know it’s an old cliché but that is where the idea
of this book came from. I wanted to write characters with real raw emotions and
problems. I wanted the reader to see that even though Lakota Honor takes place
more than a hundred years ago things haven’t changed with the way we treat each
other. It’s about reflecting upon ones self. Look inside and see the person you
want to be not what society tells you to be.
PROLOGUE
The blade
slicing his throat made no sound, but the dead body hitting the ground did.
With no time to stop, he hurried through the dark tunnel until he reached the
ladder leading out of the shaft.
He’d been two hundred feet below ground for
ten days, with no food and little water. Weak and woozy, he stared up the
ladder. He’d have to climb it and it wasn’t going to be easy. He wiped the
bloody blade on his torn pants and placed it between his teeth. Scraped
knuckles and unwashed hands gripped the wooden rung.
The earth
swayed. He closed his eyes and forced the spinning in his head to cease. One
thin bronzed leg lifted and came down wobbly. He waited until his leg stopped
shaking before he climbed another rung. Each step caused pain, but was paired
with determination. He made it to the top faster than he’d thought he would.
The sky was black and the air was cool, but fresh. Thank goodness it was fresh.
He took two long breaths before he emerged
from the hole. The smell from below ground still lingered in his nostrils;
unwashed bodies, feces and mangy rats. His stomach pitched. He tugged at the
rope around his hands. There had been no time to chew the thick bands around
his wrists when he’d planned his escape. It was better to run than crawl, and
he chewed through the strips that bound his feet instead. There would be time to
free his wrists later.
He pressed
his body against the mountain and inched toward the shack. He frowned. A guard
stood at the entrance to where they were. The blade from the knife pinched his
lip, cutting the thin skin and he tasted blood. He needed to get in there. He
needed to say goodbye. He needed to make a promise.
The tower bell rang mercilessly. There was no
time left. He pushed away from the rocky wall, dropped the knife from his mouth
into his bound hands, aimed and threw it. The dagger dug into the man’s chest.
He ran over, pulled the blade from the guard and quickly slid it across his
throat. The guard bled out in seconds.
He tapped
the barred window on the north side of the dilapidated shack. The time seemed
to stretch. He glanced at the large house not fifty yards from where he stood.
He would come back, and he would kill the bastard inside.
He tapped
again, harder this time, and heard the weak steps of those like him shuffling
from inside. The window slid open, and a small hand slipped out.
“Toksha
ake—I shall see you again,” he whispered in Lakota.
The hand
squeezed his once, twice and on the third time held tight before it let go and
disappeared inside the room.
A tear
slipped from his dark eyes, and his hand, still on the window sill, balled into
a fist. He swallowed past the sob and felt the burn in his throat. His chest
ached for what he was leaving behind. He would survive, and he would return.
Men
shouted to his right, and he crouched down low. He took one last look around
and fled into the cover of the forest.
Where can we find your website?
Kat
Flannery's
love of history shows in her novels. She is an avid reader of historical,
suspense, paranormal, and romance. When not researching for her next book, Kat
can be found running her three sons to hockey and lacrosse. She has her
Certificate in Freelance and Business Writing. A member of many writing groups,
Kat enjoys promoting other authors on her blog. She's been published in
numerous periodicals. Her debut novel CHASING CLOVERS has been on
Amazon's Bestsellers list many times and was #62 over all their titles. LAKOTA
HONOR and HAZARDOUS UNIONS are Kat's other two books and both
have made bestseller lists. Kat is currently hard at work on her next book.
Buy
Lakota Honor:
Bestselling
Historical Western Romance author, Kat Flannery takes you on an exciting
journey with the release of her new Historical Paranormal Romance, Lakota
Honor.
Fate has brought them
together, but will a promise tear them apart?
In the small town of Willow Creek, Colorado, Nora
Rushton spends most of her days locked up in her home with a father who resents
her and fighting off unwanted marriage proposals from the wealthy Elwood
Calhoun. Marked as a witch, Nora must hide her healing powers from those who
wish to destroy all the witkowin—crazy
women. What she doesn't know is that a bounty hunter is hot on her trail.
Lakota native Otakatay has an obligation to
fulfill. He has been hired to kill the witkowin. In a time when race and
difference are a threat and innocence holds no ground, courage, love and honor
will bring Nora and Otakatay together as they fight for their freedom. Will the
desire to fulfill his promise drive Otakatay to kill Nora? Or will the kindness
he sees in her blue eyes push him to be the man he once was?
Reviews:
"Transport
back to the old west with this paranormal historical, and its alpha hero, and a
heroine hiding her secret talents."
—Shannon Donnelly, author
of the Mackenzie Solomon Urban Fantasy series
"Ms. Flannery doesn’t shy away from writing gritty scenes or about
unpleasant topics…That’s what good writing is all about—bringing out strong
emotions in a reader."
—Peggy L. Henderson, bestselling author of the Yellowstone Romance Series
"Those who relish the conflict of a heroic half-breed trapped
between the white man's world and the Indian will fall in love with LAKOTA
HONOR."
—Cindy Nord, author of No Greater Glory
"LAKOTA HONOR weaves a fast paced and beautiful prose that lures
you through every chapter and leaves you wanting more."
—Erika Knudsen, paranormal author of Monarchy of
Blood
