Literary Nymphs Interview
Title:
No Angel
Author: Daniel A. Kaine
Publisher:
Dreamspinner Press
Genre:
Contemporary, Romance, Paranormal, Coming of Age
Release
Date: 26th August 2013
Do you write in more than
one genre?
I
mainly write paranormal stories because I love having an element to my story
that you wouldn’t find in everyday life, whether that’s magic or supernatural
creatures. ‘No Angel’ has paranormal elements, but it’s more contemporary as it
focuses on the relationship between the two main characters.
I’m
currently working on a romance/thriller, and also have a short sci-fi story
planned for the near future.
What if any, is the hardest
part of writing for you?
The
first draft. I’m the type of person who obsesses over every little word while
I’m writing. Add that to a stressful day job with long shifts, and often I
don’t get much writing done on an evening. For those reasons, a first draft can
take forever for me to write and is definitely the hardest part of writing for
me.
What inspired the story?
‘No
Angel’ was inspired by many things. At the time I was living away from home for
University. The city where I studied had quite a few homeless people on the
streets, and sadly some of them were children. And so the idea came to me about
the story of a boy who had been thrown out of home.
As
I didn’t want the story to revolve around homophobia, I decided that my
characters would be different in some other way that would cause them to be
discriminated against. It had to be some
physical difference so that others could see it. I actually came across a story
on the internet about a Chinese woman who had grown horns. I took that idea and
made it into a fictional condition known as Devil Syndrome, which would cause a
child to be born with two small stumps of bone on their heads.
Other
random events that inspired parts of this story include a trip to the
Christkindlmarkt, which is an annual event in Leeds ,
also known to most people as the ‘Christmas Market’. They sell lots of German
foods, beers, mulled wine, and have small craft stalls there for a few weeks
each year in the run up to Christmas. During the book, my characters visit the
market. They also go to a sports stadium, which was very close to where I lived
while at university.
Blurb:
Born
with a birth defect called Devil Syndrome, it is impossible for Josh Harper to
hide the two small stumps of hornlike bone atop his head. If people also knew
about his ability to create force fields with his mind, they’d lock him up for
sure. Left to fend for himself on his eighteenth birthday, Josh tries to make
it on the streets. When he’s attacked, he’s rescued by Sam Mitchell, who has an
equally strange power—and a set of pure white wings.
Sam
ran away from home a year ago, and the new life he’s built for himself includes
living in an abandoned house and looking after three younger kids, all with
Devil Syndrome. Then along comes Josh. After a rough start their relationship
grows and the two young men find a haven in each other’s arms. But when tragedy
strikes their newfound family, Sam’s hatred of regular humans spirals out of
control, and Josh will have to make Sam see sense before everything he’s worked
so hard to build is destroyed.
EXCERPT:
“You should be taking it easy,” a voice said from the hallway.
Josh stilled, his body tensing as he glanced to his left. A boy about
his age leaned against the doorframe, his arms folded. He pushed himself away
and started toward Josh. The silvery moonlight caught his dirty-blond hair as
he passed the window. Peeking out from beneath the messy fringe was a set of
jade-green eyes, sparkling with mischief. Black marks stained his white
T-shirt, and his light blue jeans were riddled with tears. The boy knelt next to
the mattress and motioned for Josh to lie back down. Josh did as he was
instructed. In his current state, there was no way he could do much but obey.
“You took quite the beating out there,” the boy said. “You’re lucky I
found you when I did.”
Josh frowned, biting his lower lip. Perhaps the angel was in his
imagination after all. “You found
me?”
“Yeah. Don’t you remember?”
He shrugged. If the angel wasn’t real, then what was? “Not sure what I
remember.”
“Not surprising. You took a few blows to the head. Nothing serious as
far I can tell.” The boy brushed a few strands of dark hair from Josh’s temple
and began to dab the damp cloth against his forehead. A stinging sensation
stabbed at Josh’s skull, and he hissed. “So what do you remember?”
“You’ll probably think I’m crazy.”
“Try me.”
Josh hesitated for a moment. Even if it did sound strange, he could
always blame it on his injuries. “Before I passed out, I saw something.”
He closed his eyes, picturing the dark alley and the image burned into
his mind of the angel clenching his fists as he stalked silently toward Josh’s
attackers. A head of messy blond hair clung to the angel’s rain-soaked skin,
and his eyes appeared to burn with a green fire. Okay, so maybe some of it was
true. The boy had been there. His mind must have been playing tricks on him
though, because he certainly didn’t have any wings now. Josh laughed quietly.
“I do remember you. I thought you were an angel.”
The
boy laughed too, a short, sharp chuckle. “An angel, huh? Well, trust me, I’m no
angel.”
Where can we find your website?
A portion
of all royalties from ‘No Angel’ will be donated to the Albert Kennedy Trust,
which helps to provide shelter and mentoring for LGBT youths who have been made
homeless, or are stuck living in hostile environments.
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