Thanks to JC for having me, and welcome everyone to the four spot on the Slasherazzi blog tour. As always there will be a giveaway posted toward the bottom, and if you haven’t already visited them you can check out the other stops on the tour by visiting http://www.danielakaine.comfor more chances to enter.
Slasherazzi is my fourth full-length novel, and it’s been such a rollercoaster ride from the time I first picked up the pen, so to speak. So I wanted to talk a little bit today about my writing journey.
In 2009, I began watching anime to alleviate the boredom of being unemployed. And when I had caught up on all of my favourite animes, I turned to fanfiction while I awaited new episodes to be released. In particular, there was one fandom I frequented more than any other – Naruto x Sasuke.
After spending more hours than I could count reading about the sexy escapades of my two favourite ninjas, I decided to try my hand at writing a story myself, and before long I had the boys paired up in an Anita Blake-esque world of vampire hunting. Not long after that, unfortunately, real life got in the way and I had less and less time to spend on writing.
It was at the end of 2009 when the topic of writing came up in a conversation with a good friend. He mentioned that someone he knew wrote a book, and he thought he could do better. When I mentioned that I had an interest in writing, he then encouraged me to write along with him.
I stumbled on the NaNoWriMo boards shortly after this, and with the help of some very helpful people, wrote the first chapter of what is now ‘Dawn of Darkness’,book one in the Daeva trilogy. By June I had finished and the story was sat at 110,000 words. Quite an achievement for my first novel.
It was then that a friend gave me a one sentence prompt which sparked the Slasherazzi story. Yes, that’s right… I started writing Slasherazzi four years ago, and I’ve never been as glad that it took me so long to finish something, because the book is definitely a hell of a lot better than it would have been had I wrote it in full then.
Fast forward to 2012 and I have two books and a short story under my belt. That November, I wrote ‘No Angel’ for NaNoWriMo, with the help of Poppy Dennison, who I had met at GayRomLit in Albuquerque that year. It was in January 2013 that I submitted to Dreamspinner Press, and in March I had a contract in my inbox. My first real contract. Words can’t explain how excited I was at that time.
Going on at the same time, I had been asked to co-write a short zombie story with Ethan Stone for Wilde City Press, who were just starting up at the time. Thus, I had a second contract through shortly after.
‘Zombie Boyz’ and ‘No Angel’ released in July and August of last year, respectively. And then I was stuck… afflicted with an absolutely horrible case of writer’s block. I tried writing several things, and each time ground to a complete halt. Some of you may have noticed me with my laptop out at GRL in Atlanta. That was me trying desperately to write Slasherazzi, and failing. No matter what I tried, the words were not coming. And honestly, there were a few days when I felt like quitting.
I’ve always doubted myself. Never had faith that I could do much. Continuing to write seemed pointless when the returns were almost negligible compared to the time I invested in writing. Thankfully I have made a lot of awesome friends over the last couple of years, and it was their encouragement that spurred me on to continue.
Finally, on 29th December 2013, I had finished Slasherazzi. Three and a half years after its inception. By January, I had it sent off to Wilde City, and now five months later it’s out there, ready to take its first steps into the big wide world.
I’ve worked with some amazing people on this story, from my betas – Lara, Poppy, and Patricia – to the absolutely awesomesauce Val Hughes who did the content edits. I really need to give a big shout out to Val, because she improved the story in so many ways. Couldn’t have done it without you.
And now the initial reactions are in, and finally all the hard work seems to have paid off. The level of validation I felt reading those first reviews and comments, and the support of the M/M community in sharing the news, has made this the best release day yet by a long way. And I can only hope that this is a sign of things to come, because that buzz going around my FB and Twitter feed right now, that’s a big part of why I wanted to write in the first place… to create something that would give enjoyment to others, as those fanfiction stories I read years ago did to me. And all the friends I’ve made along the way, you have made this journey totally worth it. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you everyone.
Recently promoted to Detective, Alex is out to prove himself and the Slasherazzi case is the perfect opportunity. Mutilated corpses are showing up across Tampa, and when the team discovers the newest victim was tortured alive, Alex becomes more determined than ever to stop the crazed serial killer before the horrific stabbings escalate further.
With the return of Alex’s ex-boyfriend and journalist, Vince, the investigation takes a dangerous twist: the killer starts showing a personal interest in Alex. Can he stop the murders and salvage his relationship with Vince, or does he risk letting both men get away?
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Daniel was born and raised in the Land of Rain, aka England, where he now lives with his four lovable furballs; Mik, Ash, Spidey and Flash. Originally trained as a Biology teacher, Daniel was unsure what to do with his life until he came across fanfiction for his favourite anime and decided to have a go at writing his own. To this day, he still cringes at the memory of the cheesy terminology he used.
Book Blurb
Book Links
Available from Wilde City
Amazon and other links may take a few days to follow, but I can provide those once they go live.
Amazon and other links may take a few days to follow, but I can provide those once they go live.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Author Bio
Daniel was born and raised in the Land of Rain, aka England, where he now lives with his four lovable furballs; Mik, Ash, Spidey and Flash. Originally trained as a Biology teacher, Daniel was unsure what to do with his life until he came across fanfiction for his favourite anime and decided to have a go at writing his own. To this day, he still cringes at the memory of the cheesy terminology he used.
Author Links
Website:http://www.danielakaine.com
Twitter:http://www.twitter.com/shiki_boy
Hi Daniel, I enjoyed your blog post and love your book title. Thanks for the giveaway.
ReplyDeleteI loved the post. This sounds like it will be a very good book.
ReplyDeleteI would love the chocolate to eat all day without getting fat ...lol
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the post and the book is now on my wishlist.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway and good luck!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the post. I was very interested in reading your journey into becoming a published writer and I look forward to reading your books, which I have added to my very long TBR list
ReplyDelete