It’s almost here.

I can’t believe I just wrote that sentence.

The Wicked Thorn started taking shape in my mind almost a year ago and to see it finally be ready to publish is insane to me. I never imagined that I would write such a novel. I was perfectly happy to continue writing in the paranormal romance genre for a long time.

I enjoy it and I think I’m pretty darn good at it, but sometimes ideas grab a hold of you, and they refuse to leave. I have talked about how and why this book came to fruition. You all know my twin boys are in the comic book business.

Did I ever really think I would create my own vigilante universe? Absolutely not.

Have I been worried since I started writing this book that people may think it’s too far from the norm for me and hate it?

One hundred percent.

In the end though, if I am going to be the writer I want to be and practice what I preach, I must abide by  my own mantra, and that is, write for yourself.

In a way though, I didn’t just write it for myself. I wrote this book for my boys and for my daughter, who loves superheroes as much as her brothers. I wrote it because I’m the mom who takes my kids to the first night showings of every comic book movie and I also went along with my sons to see Batman: The Killing Joke in the theater. Netflix premieres of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage? Yup, you’re staying home so we can binge watch.

This is my life and I am immersed in it every single day. Discussions on what is happening in the comic book, gaming, and movie world are a daily staple in this household. I help write and edit content on my boys website and I also have been guiding them as they start the process of publishing their first novels.

I suppose it’s really not that surprising that I would want to add my own twist on this genre. Unfortunately, there really isn’t much out there to compare it to and I find myself stressing out over how to classify and tag this novel on Amazon.

Contemporary romance/ crime romance/action romance?

But enough about that. Let’s get into the good stuff.

So, who is The Wicked Thorn?

I suppose he’s a cross between Batman and Nightwing. He’s not as dark as Bruce Wayne, but he does love his gadgets and is unmatched in hand to hand combat. He also loves his city and he is determined to stop it from rotting from the inside out as it is plagued in crime and corruption from the recent economic downturn.

This book is set in Boston and I had fun using it as a background for my story. I adore the historic city and growing up only a few hours away, I have walked those streets many of times. I checked the map as I was writing and memories of my numerous visits would always make me smile.

I also loved writing the female heroine. Bry McKenna is unlike any character I have ever created and it was a joy to write her point of view. I also had the best time getting to know her family, the more I wrote her story.

It wasn’t all hearts and roses. I second guessed myself all the time. I sent out an emergency email to my friend Cathy, who reads my books, and I knew I could count on her to be blunt with her honesty.

Her thoughts were that she never had read anything like this, and while she has seen movies similar, she had never actually read it in a book form.

She also told me she loved it and not to stop writing it.

This was the first book that I have ever been insecure about and I think it was because I didn’t have the paranormal aspects to fall back on. I also spent almost an equal amount of time between the male and female protagonists.

Plus, there is a lot of action, which as you know, is my Achilles heel.

I pray that my readers give this book a shot and I also hope that they love it as much as I do. I have no intentions of leaving this world I just started to create and really just want everyone to come along for the ride with me.

But, it’s back to formatting and next time I will talk more about where I want this series to go and the challenges I will have to overcome the further I get into this exciting new project!

~Shannon