Welcome to the Starblood by Carmilla Voiez Release Day Blog Hop

Firstly Carmilla would like to thank every friend and supporter who is helping share the news of the relaunch of the Starblood series.

On December 11th Starblood is being published by Vamptasy Publishing at an introductory discounted price of only 99c/99p. The discounted price will be available until December 12th and after that the novel will be sold at the regular price of $2.99. The book is available here – http://smarturl.it/Starblood. A paperback release is also planned for the novel.

What is Starblood? For those of you new to the story Carmilla has recorded an eight minute video in which she discusses the background to the first novel and the series.

Here are some of the highlights -

Starblood is the first book in a series of at least four novels. Starblood was Carmilla’s debut novel back in 2011. It has been edited and perfected for this re-release. Starblood looks at magic, sexuality and the personal struggles of being female while negotiating a place in the world. The book has three central characters who are bisexual. We begin in Satori’s (aka Steve’s) bedroom. His girlfriend, Star, has split up with him but he cannot or will not let her go without a fight. Satori has spent much of his young life studying and practising magic, and he decides the best way to win Star back is to enlist the help of a demon. As he starts the ritual he is excited, afraid, sad and angry, but his training forces him to be careful and protect himself with sigils and spells. We witness his battle of will over emotion. Some readers may feel sympathy, others may marvel at his naivete, while many will realise what he hopes to achieve is morally repugnant and paramount to enslaving his so called beloved. This last group might recoil in horror at his plan and hope he fails.

An excerpt -

Satori stands in the centre of his bedroom. His fingers and the lace cuffs of his shirt are stained from the charcoal he uses to scribble symbols. Markings cover every surface: the bare 

floorboards, ceiling and walls. Even his wardrobe and door are covered in intricate black sigils.

He unbuttons his shirt, swearing as he leaves fingerprints on the cotton. After tossing the garment on to his bed, he unzips his jeans, and forces the denim over his legs and to the floor. Standing naked, he smells himself. There is no trace of her scent on his body. Realising this feels like losing her all over again.

His fragile-looking, angular body is lost in the forest of writing. It expands around him, a web of ancient knowledge. The tips of his fingers prickle with energy.

He pulls silver rings from his fingers. Pushing back his shoulder-length hair, he removes the hoops from his left ear, and finally the silver stud from his sharply pointed nose. His jewellery jingles like tiny bells as he lets it fall, scattering like distant stars across the midnight duvet. On his pillow, dozens of photographs lie like fallen leaves. Some are intact but most are torn or defaced. Her face holds his thoughts for a moment: pale, perfect and framed by a mass of ebony curls. He shakes his head to clear her image. After this is over he will make her love him again. Maybe she will beg for his forgiveness. A wolfish grin grows across his face at the thought of Star on her knees, begging him to take her back. He licks his lips. His face feels hot, his body cold. In spite of his impatience to start the ritual, he waits. Sucking deep breaths in through his nostrils, he collects his thoughts—he mustn’t rush. He must be in control of himself and his desires.

Whispering, he draws the same glyphs on his body. He starts with his toes and the soles of his feet, moving upwards and over his skin with practised dexterity. Charcoal drags against his skin, which blossoms pink below each mark. The growing tattoo obscures his features.

Although he knows the words he needs to say, he reads the passage again, to be certain. He draws two circles on the floor and steps into one of them. With the fingers of his right hand he traces a pentagram in the air before him. Then he recites the words, his voice slow and clear, pronouncing each syllable with care.

‘ … This is my will,’ he says finally.

Lifting a silver dagger above his head, he concentrates. An excited grin spreads across his graffiti covered face and with tremendous force he plunges the knife downwards, severing the air in front of him. Through the tear he can see swirls of darkness: Chaos. He calls to Furfur, creator of love between man and woman, to share with him his demon’s power so he can win Star back.

A long, slender leg steps through the gap, followed by a lily-white body. The interloper is female, naked and hairless.

‘I am Satori,’ he says. His voice quivers with fear and excitement. He coughs and tries to speak with more authority. ‘I have brought you—’

‘Brought me? I think not. I saw the door and came to see the fool who caused it to open.’ Her emerald eyes are full of contempt.

Satori’s confidence withers. Malice thickens the air like gelatine and the demon’s aura chills the room. Although he suspects it is fear rather than the cold that makes his body shake so violently. Staring at her in silence, he realises he has made an error. Through all his planning and preparation, he did not see this coming. What went wrong? Instead of Furfur, contained and compelled to do his bidding, ready to elevate him back into the arms of his beloved, he is faced with something else, something threatening. He raises his dagger above him again, ready to expel her before it’s too late, but before he can open his mouth she knocks the dagger away with the back of her hand.

‘I am your guest not your minion, and you will not dismiss me,’ she says.

Starblood crosses numerous genres. In the tradition of Wuthering Heights it could be considered a Gothic Romance. There are scenes of violence that sit comfortably in horror. There is a preoccupation with Magic and Demonology that nudges it into the dark fantasy genre. And finally there is the story of a young person searching for her identity in a world that confuses, traps and frustrates her, containing enough existential crises and philosophy to dip its toes into contemporary women’s fiction.

A graphic novel based on Starblood is also available for those who prefer comics to novels.

GIVEAWAY

Want to win some Starblood loot? Check out this prize draw. You can enter by buying either book, sharing news of the new release or subscribing to Carmilla Voiez’s newsletter.

GIVEAWAY LINK HERE

Ends Monday 17th December.

Author Links -

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Amazon Author Page (US)

Amazon Author Page (UK)

About Carmilla -

Carmilla Voiez is a proudly bisexual and mildly autistic introvert who finds writing much easier than verbal communication. Her books are both extraordinarily personal and universally challenging. A life long Goth, Carmilla lives with her daughter, two cats and a poet by the sea. She is passionate about horror, the alt scene, intersectional feminism, art, nature and animals. When not writing, she gets paid to hang out in a stately home and entertain tourists.

Carmilla grew up on a varied diet of horror. Her earliest influences as a teenage reader were Graham Masterton, Brian Lumley and Clive Barker mixed with the romance of Hammer Horror and the visceral violence of the first wave of video nasties. Fascinated by the Goth aesthetic and enchanted by threnodies of eighties Goth and post-punk music she evolved into the creature of darkness we find today.

Carmilla’s bibliography includes Starblood (Vamptasy Publishing, Dec 2018), Starblood the graphic novel, Psychonaut the graphic novel, The Ballerina and the Revolutionary, Broken Mirror and Other Morbid Tales. Her work has been included in Zombie Punks Fuck Off (Clash Books), Slice Girls (Stitched Smile), and Another Beautiful Nightmare (Vamptasy).