Shift by M R Merrick (Book 2)
Devastated by a terrible loss, Chase is trying to balance the life he’s been left with, a family he’s still getting to know, and power he never thought he’d have. He doesn’t understand why the Goddess has named him the Protector and granted him two gifts: the Mark, a tattoo that now covers his back, and the ring. But between getting interrogated by the Circle and psychic attacks from Riley, the Mark is the least of his concern. There’s a demon inside Rayna that’s fighting to be released, and it’s not her inner witch. It’s something else—a monster threatening to tear her apart.
As Chase struggles to control his magic, his enemies are closing in. Everyone has staked a claim on his ring, and destroying it may be his only chance to stop Riley. But Chase must decide if stopping him is worth risking the lives of everyone he cares about, or if protecting the ring will be enough to save his world.
Purchase Links :
All eReaders can also purchase Shift through Smashwords.
Want to read the first 5 chapters then click HERE
Guest Post :
A Story is Born
The Protector
series wasn’t some life-long dream of mine. I never had aspirations to write
any kind of novel, let alone one filled me magic and demons and adventure. I
discovered my love for reading late in my life and I enjoyed it, but I was
happy to watch a plethora of movies and play video games just the same. Exiled,
and writing fiction in general, kind of happened to me by accident.
It started with a
rough day that turned into a rough week, which eventually curved into a rough
month. I needed out. Out of this rut and away from the grey cloud that seemed
to loiter around my head. More than anything I needed an escape, if only for a
little while. Movies couldn’t hack it, video games weren’t enthralling me, and my
desire to read had been vanquished, so I decided I’d create the escape myself.
I couldn’t design video games and making a movie I’d actually watch seemed out
of reach, so I sat down and started writing. But what would I write? I truly
had no idea.
I’d always had an
odd obsession with the elements, so I thought about that.
What if I could create fire in the palm of my hand, or take the water in a
glass and have it bend to my will? I love vampires and shifters and all sorts
of demons, but what if I changed the way they existed? I sat down and wrote
that first night for six hours straight. It started with a fight scene between
Chase Williams and what would eventually become my version of the vampire. They
weren’t the undead, they were very much alive, and they had their own unique
government. You could be turned, or born, but either way the hunters were your
enemy. But I didn’t want the vampires to be the center of my story. I wanted it
to be about more than that.
When I looked up
and saw how long I’d been at it, I realized I had something. All sorts of
questions and details expanded in my mind. Who was Chase? Why was the demon
after him? Why was he alone? Where are the other hunters? Wait…who’s this Rayna
that keeps popping up in my mind? She’s sassy, I like her. No, I love her. I
can’t stop thinking about any of this. Yep. There’s definitely something here.
I spent the next
while talking non-stop to my wife. She’s my soundboard and I bounced idea after
idea off of her. She’d come home from a long shift at work and I’m sure she was
overwhelmed by this sudden desire to write a book, and on top of that she was
probably exhausted after a long day at work, but she listened to every word
nonetheless and fueled my excitement even further. We spent hours talking that night.
It wasn’t just me that was excited, she was too. This whole story could be
amazing! That’s it, I was committed. This story would be written.
I wrote the book,
I added to it, I cut it in half, I rewrote it, I left it alone, I revised it,
and I attacked it in every way I could. When I was done, I felt like it had
come alive. This wasn’t just some mild attempt to escape the trials of life. It
was a passion submerged in flames and swallowing me whole.
The demons came to
life, dark blood rippling beneath pale skin. Creatures from other worlds were
born in the depths of my imagination: snake-like bodies slithered over the blue
rock of Vortan, while multi-legged demons who spoke in youthful rhyme trampled
through the stone mazes. I literally let my eyes fall shut and described the
worlds as I saw them. Some were desolate wastelands while others were filled
with such beauty it was difficult to describe. Drakar’s purple water ran along
the coast, half-troll half-giant concoctions fished from the rivers, and tiny
birds that could morph into massive creations would help you scale across the
landscape…if you could get away from the hulk-like goblin that traded you for
it. The fire burned from within, rising up and spilling out over my fingertips.
Water healed the wounds the fire left, and the earth brought a peace to my soul
so magical the pages turned themselves. The air pushed me forward when I didn’t
think I could go any further, and the lightning crackled, reigniting my soul
when my eyes grew weary. The other dimensions revolved around all the adventure
inside Stonewall, New York, while Chase, Rayna, and the rest of the gang
struggled through loss and heartache, begging one another not to give up. I had
been consumed entirely by a world that all started with a single fight.
I spent the next
eighteen months researching things, and in 2011 I decided I would publish it. I
hired two editors, a cover artist, and I invested in the opinions of a few
trusted beta readers. On July 1st 2011, I clicked publish for the
first time, and just as my life had changed when I wrote that first scene, my
life shifted again. I met a plethora of amazing people through social media. I
discovered bloggers and agents and writers who I’ve come to trust and respect.
And most importantly, I took my first step forward with a career as an author.
Of course none of
this was as simple and easy as this post will make it appear. Each book had its
own challenges, and life has thrown me many curveballs since it all began, but
for the first time in my life I’ve found something I truly love to do and I’m
committed to every part of it. I’ve never stayed at a job for longer than
eighteen months. It’s inevitable that I’ll get bored and want a change, but
here I am 5 years after I started writing Exiled and I’m still going.
In that time, I’ve
not only published one, but four novels. The Protector series has come to an
end, with many standalone spinoff stories on the horizon, but right now I’m
creating an entirely new world in Sacred Cities. One full of new demons, a new
landscape, and a completely different adventure. All the while the last few
months have been an assault on my imagination. New stories are being born and
new ideas come to fruition each day. There may be a lot that is uncertain in
this business, and even more so in this world, but the one thing I can say for
certain is that my passion for telling stories and creating new worlds isn’t
going anywhere.
Come for the
action, stay for the adventure, and if you want magic, monsters and imagination
thrown in too, you’ve come to the right place.
About The Author :
M.R. Merrick is a Canadian writer and author of The Protector Series, a Young Adult mash-up between Urban and Epic Fantasy. Having never traveled, he adventures to far off lands through his imagination and in between cups of coffee. As a music lover and proud breakfast enthusiast, he’s usually found at the computer between a pair of headphones and in front of a large bowl of cereal.
Contact the author :
Website : http://mrmerrick.net/blog/
Twitter : http://www.twitter.com/MRMerrick
Stop by M R Merricks website, Facebook and Twitter and say hi!! Enter the giveaway and come back tomorrow for a look at book 3.
Thank you a lot Matt for coming to give us a little insight of how things came to be. ( sorry so few are comenting)
ReplyDeleteyour universe seems even more tempting now that it was before i read this and i must say that i understand all too well..... the best stories idea come at unexpexted time the time i wrote the most was when i had severe pneumonia ( a variation in fact)... i was drenched completely out and feeling alone but then i also wrote up to 8pages per day ( 8 pages in my writing will easily made 20/30 while typed^^;;) now when i see the fanfic i did or it was more kind of fantasy with the roleplaying character i couldn't go to play with i think it was quite good oki lot of gramattical error, ortography forgotten but i had 40°c^^;; so in teh end teh result is quite good^^;;) but i don't think i would feel confident enough to work that draft and create a novel for it so i really admire you