livi talbot — Page 5

August 27, 2019 By Skyla Dawn Cameron Leave a Comment

SHIVA’S BOW Release Day!

It’s here! Oh my god, I wrote this book winter/spring 2014, and I can’t believe it’s finally here.

That was the year I got extremely sick and was diagnosed late fall with an autoimmune disorder. The year after that, the first person other than me got to read it–my beta went over it…while I was at my father’s funeral. And the next person to always read my work died a month later. Then I went through other things myself that made me think I could never go back and write this series, it hurt too much.

But here we are.

This was just supposed to be a quick release post, but this book went through a lot of awful stuff with me over the years. That might be part of why it’s so hard to let it go.

Three novels (plus Tiger’s Memory), two novellas, one short story (plus Santa’s Secret) have led up to this one. I hope it entertains you and thrills you and makes you gasp and grin uncontrollably.

Happy reading. Thanks for helping to get Livi this far.

Nowhere to run. No one to trust.

For once, life is looking good for single mom and adventurer Livi Talbot.

Work is steady, her team is dependable, her daughter is thriving. And then there’s deadly operative Dale West—who sometimes turns into a tiger and always throws her off her game. Just as she’s ready to confront her growing feelings for him, he invites her on a mission for his agency that will take her team to Nepal. A recent earthquake has revealed a mysterious temple deep in the Himalayas, and the secrets within could be fatal in the wrong hands.

A supernatural weapons dealer and his army of mercenaries are at their heels to complicate things, as is someone from West’s past who makes Livi question their potential future. She’s always been slow to trust, but believing in West might be the only way they survive.

If his lies don’t get her killed first.

The soundtrack is here if that’s your thing.

August 25, 2019 By Skyla Dawn Cameron Leave a Comment

Soundtrack Sunday – SHIVA’S BOW Edition

I first wrote the book in 2014 so there’s a mix of older songs and more recent ones from when I was revising it. Trying to leave off repeats but check the other soundtracks for more Livi & West tunes (Civil Wars – Poison & Wine was another big one for this book again).

Pearl Jam – “Just Breathe“
Second and third chapters.
“Stay with me// Let’s just breathe” and “Did I say that I need you?//Did I say that I want you?//What if I did and I’m a fool you see“

Troels Brun Folmann – “Nepal Theme“
Misc nepali trekking and lodge stops.

Cary Brothers – “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You“
“If you were anyone else, Olivia, I would have.”

Screaming Trees – “Look at You”
Look, it’s a good song for banter and sudden kissing, okay? (It’s also very West POV for me)
Her ghost hides/ In my mind/ In the night/ In a way she’s haunting me/I’m wanting her still and When I look at you I’ve got a second chance/ Really need to take it now

Colbie Caillat – “Killing Me Softly“
Whenever Livi’s feeling a bit betrayed or confused.

Jason Graves – “The Descent“
Snaaaakes (around 1:30).

The Wind and the Wave – “Chasing Cars” (Cover)
Second scene in ch 23. “Don’t leap,” he breathed against my skin, sending a shiver through me. Because I couldn’t promise that, I didn’t reply.
I don’t quite know // How to say // How I feel // Those three words // Are said too much // They’re not enough // If I lay here // If I just lay here // Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

Jason Graves – “Scaling the Ziggurat“
Livi climbs to the top of a temple interior.

Rachel Platten – “Fight Song”
I have this one on a loop in a lot of Livi’s books, particularly writing the first four books. I stuck it with this soundtrack because I there’s a scene where she jumps out of a helicopter and very specifically saw that moment at the 2:50-ish point in the song where it gets quiet and the chorus kicks in again.
I might only have one match//But I can make an explosion

Colin O’Malley / Troels Brun Folmann – “Croft Manor Catacombs”
Exploring the temple.

Troels Brun Folmann – “Lost City Suite”
Final temple/battle scenes.

Alex Hobbs – “Something I Need” (cover)
As I’ve said a bunch of times, “Something I Need” is very much the Livi/West series theme song, so I listen to a bunch of variations and covers during writing certain scenes. This was the during the second kiss scene before the epilogue.
This line, though: With broken words I try to say/Honey don’t you be afraid/if you’ve got nothing you’ve got us. was exactly what went through my head in the second chapter when he holds her hand at the hospital.

Survivor – “Eye of the Tiger“
You’ll see…

Lana Del Rey – “Ride“
Yeah this was some kissing and smexing in the epilogue…

Ingrid Michaelson – “Can’t Help Falling” (cover)
So the epilogue is called “A Kind of Blind Love” in reference to “I Only Have Eyes For You” (recurring song in the series), but it was this cover of Can’t Help Falling I wrote the end of the epilogue to–I almost called the epilogue “Can’t Help Falling” instead. It’s a melancholy sort of cover, almost (esp at 2:10), that hits the right emotional notes for that final scene.

Print available now and get ready for the ebook on Tuesday!

July 18, 2019 By Skyla Dawn Cameron Leave a Comment

Kobo Sale on the Livi Talbot Series

Hi folks–Kobo is running a big sale on the Livi books to promote Shiva’s Bow release. The novels are $2.99 ea, the novellas 99c each, and the boxset is on sale too (contains first three novels and Ashford’s Ghost novella).

I was planning to do a guest post at a friend’s blog, but as I struggled to come up with something, I got hit with strep throat and was very sick for about three weeks. I’ve since been trying to catch up on work.

If you could share the deal and tell a friend, that would be fantastic–as always with these books, I’m relying on word of mouth.

Link to the sale page is here. Graphic below!

Sale runs today through the 22nd.

May 3, 2019 By Skyla Dawn Cameron Leave a Comment

Shiva’s Bow Preorder

I’ve set a date for the fourth Livi novel:

August 27, 2019

“When’s That Book Coming?” Spring 2019 Edition

When we last left our heroine…*checks*…oh, I’d sold a bunch of books over New Year’s. Sales were really good in January and February. They’ve dropped again now that those folks have caught up with the series (except at Kobo–love you, Kobo!), but I’ve picked up new readers excited about more Livi and who have joined Patreon. So that is amazing, and if you’re new around here, welcome! Please tell a friend or seven!

What’s New

The first Livi boxset is available–this contains Solomon’s Seal, Odin’s Spear, Ashford’s Ghost (novella), Emperor’s Tomb.

I’ve also set for re-release some of Aunt Judy’s books–Teacher’s Pet and Love by the Pound, two of her first books, are up for preorder. I recovered Big Fat Lies and Second Chances: Jack and Gillian with more traditional romance covers, which I think would please her.

Of her stuff, I think I still have a couple of novellas, and her novel Lady Blue left to release.

If you’re tired of me killing and torturing characters, check out her romances! They will not break your heart, as I am wont to do, but as her literary heir, I make full royalties.

What I’m Working On…

Livi #5 is once again in progress–I took a break because kittens–and it’s now up to 50K. I’m maybe at the halfway mark? There’s a lot of filling in to do but it’s coming along. While #4 is a game changer, #5 is what starts to set Livi on her path/mission/calling/whatever you want to call it.

ICYMI buried in the post a few days ago, here’s the look at the covers for the first six, all in a row.

Research for #6 is in progress, but I will likely need a break to let it percolate some. There are books beyond that, they just don’t have titles yet.

Also in progress, as announced last time, is the Waverly Jones mystery series. What was going to be a fairly simple thing I knocked out between Livi books has, of course, gotten a lot more complicated, and I’m actually sort of plotting properly with recipe cards and everything instead of leaving the tangles in my head.

Or, okay, I’m learning to plot before I can actually plot, and yes, I’ve written like forty books without plotting, and keep everything in my head. My brain is a very busy place. Stop judging me.

What’s Upcoming

New Livi novella this month! King’s Bounty is swinging your way in just over two weeks.

It’s not always whirlwind international danger and adventures for single mom and treasure hunter Livi Talbot—this time, fun’s a little closer to home when she accepts a blind date set up by her brother. A perfect storm leaves her without a babysitter—at least until Dale West arrives at her door and is willing to watch her daughter for a few hours.

But even the nicest evening out can take a sharp downturn fast: Livi and her date are abducted, bound, and dragged to an abandoned farmhouse outside of the city.

No one is coming to save her.

Her date isn’t much help.

And the kidnappers? Well, they’re merely henchmen. The real boss is on their way—and Livi’s not sure she’ll survive long after they arrive.

For Livi Talbot, of course even an ordinary first date is going to end badly.

I didn’t actually have much of a soundtrack for this one, so I’ll be skipping Soundtrack Sunday, but this was the theme for the epilogue (with a bit of this one thrown in for West):

In addition to the kidnapping and West POV babysitting, in King’s Bounty you get:

a loose end from Emperor’s Tomb tied up
a celebration of Livi being super competent, at least in some circles
my editor saying, re: West “If she doesn’t marry him, I WILL”
Livi’s favourite mac & cheese recipe

After that…I think we will be looking at Shiva’s Bow releasing in August. I will probably decide that next month and, if that’s what I go with, I’ll have preorder links as soon as I set a date.

Prepare yourselves, boys and girls.

FOR REAL. MULTIPLE KISSING SCENES. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.

This is why I don’t write romance–it takes four fucking novels for anyone to kiss, I’ll have gray hair by the time they finally bang.

Waverly Jones should start in the back half the year–now that I’ve committed to plotting, I suspect writing will actually be easier with, like, all this shit in place so I don’t get halfway through and get hit over the head with information I should’ve had at the beginning. *cough*Emperor’s Tomb*cough*

Happy reading! I hope you like King’s Bounty! (Don’t tell me if you don’t!)

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