Locked In: Paul Anthony Shortt

I've got ten minutes until the baby wakes up! Ready . . . steady . . . blog!

Right, well, I hope everyone had a lovely weekend. London has been blessed with an abundance of sunshine and warmth; not quite sure what's happening there. Thank you all for the comments on last week's blog post. It's good to see I'm not alone in my struggle to keep a balance.

Although I normally post on Thursdays, I'm dropping in today with a special guest post from Paul Anthony Shortt. I seriously do NOT KNOW how this man finds the time to write! With twin daughters under a year and another one on the way, all I can say is he must be a super-hero.

Take it away, Paul!

A Love Reborn

I’m back on Talli Roland’s blog, the day before my second novel, Silent Oath, hits the shelves. I am so excited about this! This new book pushes Nathan to the limit, and offers him his greatest reward: Love.

In the world of the reborn, there are many challenges. Their beliefs make them targets of the Council of Chains, and they must frequently contend with issues that carry over from past incarnations. The Common Laws forbid them from letting past grudges or rivalries to carry over from life to life, but they’re only human, and emotions can get the better of them.

Of all the challenges reincarnation brings, few are as delicate and complicated as love.

Many new characters make their debut in Silent Oath, but the most important is probably Elena DeSantis. Readers of Locked Within will know her better as Malcolm, lover of Nathan’s past self, Katherine O’Reilly. As you will soon learn, Elena and Nathan have been lovers in many lifetimes, and have a history that goes back further than either of them realise.

Writing a romantic sub-plot like this proved to be a challenge. After all, you can’t have the shy, nervous introduction like you would with a traditional love story. Nathan and Elena know each other’s past selves intimately, and it was inevitable that some connection survived their reincarnation.

Instead, I chose to focus on the idea of a reunion. Two people, forced apart for literal lifetimes, suddenly thrust into each other’s lives again. That was an interesting thing to write. I know what it feels like to be separated from friends from long periods of time, and the combination of fear and excitement that accompanies a reunion. Would they still love each other? Would things be the same between them? Had too much changed in the time since they last saw one another, leaving them clinging on to the hope of a memory, and nothing else?

As if that wasn’t bad enough, Nathan and Elena’s reunion is marred by the machinations of their enemies, including a man they know only as Athamar. A reborn who has hunted them across lifetimes, determined to cause them nothing but misery, Athamar is a deadly foe, who brings with him powerful allies.

Only together can Nathan and Elena put a stop to Athamar’s plans, and that means putting aside their hearts’ desires for the time being. But it also means facing their past and coming to terms with things they have done, both in this life and in previous incarnations. There will be no easy answer for these two reborn lovers.

I’d like to open this one up to discussion. 

Do you guys think two lovers can rekindle their feelings after a long time apart? Even if each has been with other people in the interim? Should they even try, or should they accept that the past is over and move on?

A child at heart who turned to writing and roleplaying games when there simply weren't enough action figures to play out the stories he wanted, Paul Anthony Shortt has been writing all his life. Growing up surrounded by music, film and theatre gave him a deep love of all forms of storytelling, each teaching him something new he could use. When not playing with the people in his head, he enjoys cooking and regular meet-ups with his gaming group.Paul lives in Ireland with his wife Jen and their dogs, Pepper and Jasper. Their first child, Conor William Henry Shortt, was born on July 11th, 2011. He passed away three days later, but brought love and joy into their lives and those of their friends. The following year, Jen gave birth to twins, Amy and Erica, and is now expecting their fourth child. Paul's first novel, Locked Within, was released on November 6th, 2012, by WiDo Publishing. Silent Oath is the second book in this urban fantasy trilogy.

Thank you, Paul! See everyone on Thurday.