Guest Post: Stacia Kane

I just want to say a huge thanks to Stacia for agreeing to do a guest post and for giving all of us with Terrible fever a little something fun to read while we're trying to wait patiently for book four.

This series is one of my very favorite new Urban Fantasy series, Chess and Terrible are beautifully written and the whole story is gritty, disturbing and utterly addicting.

I'll stop talking now and let Stacia tell you how she came up with the nickname that made us all melt.

Chessiebomb!

Terms of endearment can be funny things. The same term or nickname that makes one woman feel all shivery and precious and warm inside may make another woman jaw-clenchingly angry.

Take “baby.” My husband has always called me baby. I call him baby. It honestly never occurred to me that “baby” could be considered offensive or upsetting or patronizing. But apparently it is; I discovered this a few years ago when I found a whole discussion online about the use of “Baby” in romances and how much the women participating in the discussion hated it.

Then there are things like “Sweetheart.” I call my children sweetheart. I never call my husband that, nor does he call me that. Sweetheart feels sort of diminutive to me.

Or you can get into the more personal terms and nicknames, stuff that comes from a shared history or joke. “Widgins” or “Stumpie” or whatever.

The thing is, what terms of endearment someone uses says something about them and what kind of person they are. (Greyson in my Demons books called Megan “darling,” because he was a “darling” kind of guy. Not everyone is.)

So what sort of endearment would a guy not used to using them use? A guy who doesn’t have a wide education and isn’t necessarily a smoothie with the ladies, a guy who maybe even feels a little nervous about using them? Who isn’t very verbally expressive to begin with, especially. Terrible isn’t as I, think we all know; he’s not used to being verbally affectionate, and he doesn’t think he’s particularly good with words to begin with.

I thought and thought about it, and then I asked everyone I could think of. I emailed my agent and my editor to see if they had any suggestions. I turned to my handy-dandy little Word Museum book, which is where I got a lot of the obscure and archaic words I incorporate into Downspeech, but found nothing; there are lots and lots of words in that book for “whore,” but very few that are actually affectionate, and the ones that are just sound silly now. And I needed something Terrible might reasonably come up with on his own; he’s a lot smarter than he thinks he is, but I doubt he would pull something like “dumpling” or “cuddle bunny” out of thin air, and feel comfortable using it. (Can you imagine? Ha!)

I wanted to use “Angel.” I still wish I could use it; I have a whole backstory for it, wherein because Terrible was two or three years old when Haunted Week happened, one of his earliest memories is of seeing a Christmas display in a window that featured an angel, and little Terrible thought it was beautiful. Sweet, huh? But given that any language of that sort is illegal, and given that for him to call Chess that would necessitate him telling her that whole story, it didn’t feel right. When it came down to it, I couldn’t see him using it, at least not all the time. Maybe once in a great while. And certainly not when they were just friends.

I was actually writing the withdrawal scene when I thought of Chessiebomb. I don’t remember what exactly led me to it, but I do remember making the association in my head between “Chessie” and “Cherry.” And of course, when I think of Cherry, I think of the Runaways’ awesome song “Cherry Bomb,” which has long been one of my favorite songs. And the lyrics fit Chess pretty well, too.

Instantly I knew it was right. It felt authentic, like the kind of thing Terrible might reasonably come up with on his own. It felt like something he would feel comfortable saying. It’s affectionate but not mushy or lovey-dovey, which was of course especially important before they actually got together. So it felt like something he might call her as a friend, and something she might kind of enjoy being called, but it isn’t too heavy or indicative of his secret feelings toward her.

And yes, I also used “baby” in that UNHOLY MAGIC scene. Because you know what? Like it or not, he would say it, especially when she’s ill. He’d never called her that before, so it was indicative of how he felt about her and how he wanted to make her feel better, and the fact that she didn’t even notice, much less feel weird or uncomfortable about it, showed us a few things too: her feelings that she refused to recognize; her comfort level around him; how sick she was.

Of course I had no idea “Chessiebomb” was going to be such a point of interest; to be honest I was afraid people would think it was kind of stupid (I’m always afraid people will find everything I write kind of stupid). So it was really exciting to see the reaction to it, and how much everyone seemed to like it; well, it’s incredibly exciting that people seem to like the books so much, I never even hoped the response would be as enthusiastic as it’s been. It’s a constant source of amazement.

So what do you like about “Chessiebomb,” and what makes it stand out for you? What other sorts of terms of endearment do you think Terrible or Chess would use? Which ones do you use, and which do you love or hate?

Review: City of Ghosts

CITY OF GHOSTS (Downside Ghosts #3)
Stacia Kane
Urban Fantasy
408 pages
Random House
Available Now

THE STORY
Some days it just didn't pay to get out of bed; in that sense at least, this day was no different from any others.

That about sums up Chess Putnam's life at the moment. Her relationship with perhaps the only person she's ever truly cared about is broken; a deep fissure of betrayal running through it that she fears is beyond repair. Add that to her persistent drug habit, a forced partnership with a member of the elite Black Squad, and dismembered body parts showing up all over Downside, and you have a little glimpse of a day in the life of Chess.

While struggling with an emotional upheaval, Chess must soldier on and work with Lauren, a fiery redhead whose status in the Church is augmented through a blatant case of nepotism, in order to find those responsible for Downside's latest gruesome deaths. Lauren and Chess's partnership is strained at best, with Lauren pulling rank and disregarding Chess's valid observations in favor staying on task. Lauren's refusal to acknowledge that coincidences aren't particularly common in Downside forces Chess to seek out reluctant assistance from Terrible.

Now, with their respective hearts in tatters, Chess and Terrible must stalk a killer more powerful than anyone the Church has faced before, and one with magic of unimaginable darkness and a vendetta that can only be appeased through total destruction and anarchy.

MY THOUGHTS
Ms. Kane has an uncanny ability to write a novel laced with such tangible tension that the very pages seem almost thicker with it. The vestiges of Chess's relationship with Terrible haunt her every waking moment, and even her sleeping ones, causing her search for oblivion to increase exponentially. Every snippet of dialogue between them has a venomous edge, his hurt and pain at her actions in the previous novel leaking into their every interaction. Each verbal lash he dispenses, though valid, seems to reverberate down the spine of the book, creating an echoing tension that coils in my gut as I hang on every word. It's absolutely captivating.

In the previous two novels, the cases Chess is working have been at the forefront, with Chess's personal life being only a gratifying yet secondary storyline. In this newest installment however, her relationship with Terrible is thrust into prominence in all it's gut-wrenching glory, giving us a closer look at both character's pain and vulnerability, and making our connection to them that much deeper and more potent.

And though the relationship becomes a greater focus, the newest set of Downside villains does not disappoint. They are perhaps more horrifying, more deserving of our utter shock and awe, and more clever than their predecessors. New types of magic are introduced, darker, blacker and more sinister, rattling the very foundation of Chess's entire belief system. Now not only can Chess not trust in herself, but she's faced with the prospect of not being able to trust in the Church, which just might be enough to ruin her entirely and leaves readers reeling from the latest set of revelations.

Downside is an unbelievable place in which to get absorbed. The characters are in ruin, yet have such strength. The supernatural beings are terrifying and seemingly unbeatable, yet we are given hope that light might prevail. And the story is wrought with anxiety and extreme hostility, yet poignant just when the tension threatens to overwhelm.

Perhaps most satisfying is an ending that leaves us with a sliver of faith that Chess and Terrible's road to redemption, though certainly assured to be difficult still, may be paved with smoother stones than those of the one leading up to this point. This series is addicting, and I'm as sure to enter withdrawal waiting for the next book as Chess would be without her drug of choice.

Rating: 5/5

Review: Unholy Ghosts & Unholy Magic

UNHOLY GHOSTS (Downside Ghosts #1)
Stacia Kane
Urban Fantasy
339 pages
Random House
Available Now











UNHOLY MAGIC (Downside Ghosts #2)
Stacia Kane
Urban Fantasy
343 pages
Random House
Available Now

THE STORY
The ghosts that haunt Triumph City are not your typical spooks. Not friendly spectres unable to cross over due to unfinished business. Not deceased relatives wanting to watch over the loved ones they left behind. No, these spirits are terrifying and vengeful and have a single-minded murderous focus.

The only ones able to banish these ghosts from whence they came are the witches under the employment of the Church, an organization that came into power after hundreds of ghosts reeked havoc on Triumph City, brutally killing all those with whom they came in contact. The Church knew how to harness the magic that would defeat them, and a revolution was born.

Now, the witches who work for the Church investigate cases of reported hauntings, trying to debunk those who seek financial gain by proving to the Church their residence is truly inhabited by a hostile spectre. The Church pays a hefty fee to those whose hauntings are proved legitimate, and extract an equal fee from those proved false.

Chess Putnam is a Debunker, a Churchwitch out to investigate those who could be charged with "conspiracy to commit spectral fraud". Her job is far from simple and certainly more than a little dangerous as she calls upon her magic to drag spirits back to the City, a final resting place for ghosts. Chess is also addicted to a variety of narcotics, a habit that puts her in debt to not one, but two rival drug lords. This debt introduces her to Terrible, an enforcer whose very presence causes sweat to bead on the brow of everyone he passes, and to Lex, an unapologetic flirt and highly ranked opposing dealer.

The books follow Chess as she builds her cases against potentially fraudulent claims, as she is forcibly immersed deeper in the drug trade than she should ever go, and as she hovers on the precipice of two potentially disastrous relationships.

MY THOUGHTS
This series is chaos. Beautiful, dark, blissfully addictive chaos that leaves me craving more page time the way Chess craves her next fix. The world Ms. Kane has created is absolutely frenetic, pulsing with energy that electrifies the pages and shocks you to your very core. And I love every second of it.

The Downside ghosts are not the stuff of campfire folklore, but rather of sleep-stealing nightmares. Lock-your-doors, latch-your-windows, sleep-with-the-light-on horrifying. There's no emotion and no reasoning with them. They just appear, and if they take notice of you, they come full force with a soul-sucking efficiency and leave nothing alive in their wake.

Chess makes herself a very difficult character to care about, and she will definitely not appeal to everyone. Like any addict, she lives for her next fix and does what is necessary to get it, pride and self-respect of little consequence. The drugs are her saving grace, her safety blanket of numbness and oblivion that renders her brutal past ineffective in its persistent haunting. She also uses her body as a tool to help her cope, trading the physical for a miniscule moment of blessed mental peace brought on by a few minutes of pleasure. Her history, brought to readers in disjointed fragments and memories, has taught her to believe in her own worthlessness and deluded her into thinking she is undeserving of anything positive or pleasant. And though Chess is a complete and utter disaster, Kane infuses her with enough emotion and enough vulnerability that readers cannot help but see her as worthy of redemption, and will her every step of the way to find an inner fortitude to match her external witchy strength.

Terrible, like Chess, has a past filled with unfathomable difficulties that have left him cold, brittle, and emotionally unyielding. His job is to collect the dues owed to his boss, and he is granted permission to use any methods necessary to do so. His hands are often bloodied, his body is repeatedly scarred, and his sense of self-preservation is lacking. But through his friendship, and potential romance, with Chess, we get to see a glimmer of hope for him. A hand to the back of his neck here, hands stuffed in his pockets there, all nervous gestures that belie his outward visage of impenetrability when it comes to her and show us that his ability to care hasn't been snuffed out by a life on the streets.

This series is positively haunting and it has nothing to do with the ghosts. Chess and Terrible, with their respective struggles to be more than their past would define them as, grip you from their introduction. Every wrong decision they make of their own accord, and sometimes are forced to make by an outside influence, is tormenting. Chess's drug use is continually frustrating, and Terrible's lack of communication creates a cluster of avoidable problems. But through it all, and there is certainly a lot to which Ms. Kane subjects her characters, there is a hope that their end together will be lighter and brighter than their separate beginnings.

I highly recommend this series to anyone who loves getting attached to characters, who likes having to walk away to take a breather when the content gets overwhelming, and who loves to hope that against all odds, and with no guarantee, good things might happen if they keep reading.

Unholy Ghosts: 4/5
Unholy Magic: 4.5/5