Darkness Brutal & Darkness Fair by Rachel A. Marks - Author Interview & Giveaway

Welcome to Rachel A. Marks, author of Darkness Brutal and Darkness Fair!

Author Interview

Tell us what your books are about.

DARKNESS BRUTAL is my debut novel about a teen boy named, Aidan, who is trying to save his sister, Ava, from the demons trying to hurt her. He has a few very unique abilities and he's hoping they'll help him protect her. But they're journey takes an interesting turn when Aidan ends up under the wing of an enigmatic con artist who runs a paranormal detective agency. Eventually he'll have to decide what he wants to save more; his sister or the world. The series title is The Dark Cycle.

How did you decide to write the story?

Aidan's story came to me as the question: what if a young man was asked to put aside the fate of the world to save someone he loves? I was intrigued by this idea of having to choose between two impossible things. And so the series The Dark Cycle was born.

What are you working on now?

Right now I'm working on DARKNESS SAVAGE, which is the third book in The Dark Cycle. It will be releasing October, 2016 (it's also available for pre-order). It takes Aidan's story to the next level, upping the stakes while still delving deeper into the characters from BRUTAL & FAIR as the team tries to unite against the Darkness. This series is meant to be a slow unveiling of the world and characters over all the books and hopefully the reader will get a lot of surprises and feel the story's only becoming bigger and  more exciting as it comes to a satisfying conclusion. Hopefully. ;) I'm also working on another series tied to The Dark Cycle, tentatively called Legacy of the Fallen that follows a young assassin girl who's trying to survive in a magic-torn world of the future.

Tell us something cool about the setting in The Dark Cycle?

I had a very fun time researching to write Aidan's story. Setting it in Los Angeles was an easy choice since I'm fascinated with the magic and darkness of the place. I grew up in the area so it was especially cool to learn pieces of the history that I never knew about. Facts about locations I've been visiting my whole life. I think the one that struck me the most was a place in Pasadena, aptly named, The Devil's Gate dam. This location plays a pivotal role in the series, though I only feature it in one scene. Learning the background was super fun and I learned so much that I ended up writing a few articles on it. If the stories of disappearances and deaths surrounding the land, and the strange rock formation shaped like a devil’s head don’t make you wary, then the story behind the myths most certainly will.

The famous scientist Jack Parsons, along with the science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard believed the dam carried magical properties and powers, as the Native Americans had always said. But they also believed they could harness that power to call up something called, a moonchild; an anti-god that could abolish civilization as we know it. The rituals and magical spells (so famous they were given a name; the "Babylon Working") performed at the dam, as well as at Parsons' home, were said to have opened a portal to another world, allowing monstrous demons to come and go as they pleased. Just proves that sometimes fact is stranger than fiction.

What other books have you written that we can read?

I published a novella titled, WINTER ROSE. It began as a short story I wrote about fifteen years ago—my very first ever finished piece that I was proud of. Over the next decade I rewrote it about a dozen times from word one. It's now become the novella you can buy on Amazon. I've had several readers ask that I make it into a novel but I'm not sure it would translate with the same urgency and sharpness it does as a novella.

The story is about a young girl who lives atop a very cold and harsh mountain with her sick mother and fearful older sister. It begins as their father is leaving them alone to fend for themselves, and it follows Rose's story, showing how she holds things together and tries to keep her sanity and her soul in tact. It's a very simple story, actually. But it's still my favorite one of all the pieces I've written.

Darkness Brutal
(The Dark Cycle #1)

by Rachel A. Marks

July 1st 2015

Summary from Goodreads:

Aidan O’Linn’s childhood ended the night he saw a demon kill his mother and mark his sister, Ava, with Darkness. Since then, every three years the demons have returned to try to claim her. Living in the gritty, forgotten corners of Los Angeles, Aidan has managed to protect his sister, but he knows that even his powers to fight demons and speak dead languages won’t keep her safe for much longer.

In desperation, Aidan seeks out the help of Sid, the enigmatic leader of a group of teens who run LA Paranormal, an Internet reality show that fights demons and ghosts. In their company, Aidan believes he’s finally found a haven for Ava. But when he meets Kara, a broken girl who can spin a hypnotic web of passionate energy, he awakens powers he didn’t know he had―and unleashes a new era of war between the forces of Light and the forces of Darkness.

With the fate of humanity in his hands, can Aidan keep the Darkness at bay and accept his brilliant, terrifying destiny?

Buy Links:

Amazon│Barnes & Noble

Darkness Fair
(The Dark Cycle #2)

by Rachel A. Marks

Release Date: February 2nd 2016

Summary from Goodreads:

Against the backdrop of an ancient battle between the forces of Light and the forces of Darkness, Aidan struggles to control the newly awakened powers that seem to be his only hope for rescuing his little sister Ava, who is now trapped somewhere beyond the Veil. As he gravitates to Kara, the beguiling and dangerously unstable girl who helped him realize his abilities, a terrible mistake of fate is revealed that points him back toward Rebecca, whose role is becoming more critical to the battle. And no matter what his heart wants, it might be too late to stop the pieces already in motion.

Without knowing the sacrifices that will be required of them, Aidan and his motley crew of friends—each with their own role to play—must face the demon threat head-on. They’re the only ones keeping the growing army of Darkness at bay, and if they fail, the future of humanity could be lost.

Pre-order Links:

Amazon│Barnes & Noble

About the Author

Rachel A. Marks is an award-winning author and professional artist, a cancer survivor, a surfer and dirt-bike rider, chocolate lover and keeper of faerie secrets. She was voted: Most Likely to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse, but hopes she'll never have to test the theory. Her debut novel is DARKNESS BRUTAL, the 1st installment in The Dark Cycle. Book 2 releases February 2nd, 2016 and is titled, DARKNESS FAIR.

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