The awesome thing about being apart of a great club like Fantasy Sci-Fi Network is the array of authors I get to work with from all over the globe. This weeks new release author is no different. Hailing from Berlin, Germany, Nadja Losbohm is new to FSFNet but is far from a new author. Her book The Beginnings is the first in the huntress series (of so far 4 books) that has been translated into English.
NADJA LOSBOHM
THE HUNTRESS
THE BEGINNINGS
Ada Pearce
is an average young woman. She is 5’4” tall, overweight, and doesn’t play
sports of any kind. Shortly after her 21st birthday a mysterious
priest informs her of her destiny as a huntress. Ada doesn’t believe that story
at first, but when she finds out that creatures of the night threaten the human
population, she accepts her destiny, gives up her former life, and moves into
the secret rooms of St. Mary’s Church, which had been built hundreds of years
ago, and begins her training.
In
flashbacks, the protagonist herself tells her story, beginning with her first
meeting with the enigmatic and unapproachable priest, through her first year of
training and her secret life, to the problems she encounters on her first hunt,
and the issues which crop up when a priest and a woman live together…
"It is the most unique “vampire” novel I have ever read."
"Ada Pearce is a likeable character, who creates the necessary connection between fantasy and tension with a lot of self-irony and wit."
"This book is a mixture of "Buffy - the Vampire Slayer" and "Interview with the Vampire" - and yet again completely different. "
An excerpt to get you started...
I had barely been out for fifteen minutes before I saw
the first monster in an alley. There was something on the ground in front of
it, and judging by the sound, it was someone suffocating. Furious with myself
for having arrived too late, I screamed. Had
I left out dessert, I would have made it on time, I thought bitterly.
The monster
turned towards me. When it realized who I was, it roared at me before a surge
of foul reeking breath hit me. Oh man!
Why can’t these things smell more like vanilla or strawberries, for example? Mm
… strawberries. Yummy! I would love—concentrate now, Ada!
I pulled
my sword from under my coat and grinned diabolically at the beast.
“Your
last hour has come,” I shouted.
Actually,
I didn’t know if these beasts understood what I said and never really found out
if they did in all the years I’d fought them. In fact, I didn’t care and still
enjoyed making fun of them. Besides, I liked thinking aloud. It kind of
reassured me and calmed me down. I have to admit that I still get scared
sometimes while walking the streets at night. A casual remark, every now and then,
helped me get over my nervousness.
The
monster roared again before it jumped over the dying man and ran away. Before I
went after it, I checked the person lying there. It was a young man; he
couldn’t have been older than twenty-five. I couldn’t do anything for him
anymore.
I ran
through the alley after the monster. It turned left and then right, crossing an
empty square before it turned between two houses. It was damn fast and I was
starting to get a side ache, but I wasn’t done yet. My anger at those beasts
drove me and gave me strength. I followed it relentlessly until I suddenly
found myself standing in an old factory hall. There was hardly any light and
everything looked gray. The glass on the windows was broken and old machines
stood in the corners. There were remnants of all kinds of things on the floor.
I pulled the flashlight I always carried with me and looked around the hall.
“Come out, come out, little monster,” I whispered. My eyes darted across the
shadows in the hall anxiously, trying to find my enemy. There was nothing down
there, so I looked up. There it was, hanging onto a steel beam like a bat.
It let go so suddenly that I’d barely had time to get
out of the way. The ground under my feet shook as it hit the floor. It roared
at me before I inhaled its foul breath. Even if it hadn’t done anything else, I
had to kill it just for that!
All at once, it jumped at me. I rolled away from under
it just in time. That was close. I got up quickly and pulled myself together.
That thing stood there lurking and waiting. I did the same. Suddenly, it took a
run and came right at me. I started running towards it too, holding my sword up
in the air; I rammed it into the beast with a loud scream before I heard one of
my favorite sounds: that of a dying monster. Then it slumped on top of me.
Great!
Disgusted,
I pushed the heap of a monster off me. It fell on the floor with a loud splat.
I lay there for a moment, taking a breather, but the eerie atmosphere in the
factory hall had me up on my feet soon enough. I got my sword back, pulled a
cloth out of my pocket, and cleaned it before I called the Padre and told him
where to send the cleanup team. I stifled his anxious words crudely. I wanted
to get on with my round and not waste any more time on pointless rambling.
It wasn’t
long before I came across the next monster. This one didn’t take that long; I
was really grateful that it spared me all the running around and decided to
attack me right away. It was a short process and the cleanup team had yet
another job to do… except, the night was far from over. I found three more
creatures later on. The last in line was the worst. Maybe because I was
exhausted by then. Fatigue crept over me and my concentration was waning.
I ran down the street. The glow of dawn was slowly
breaking above the rooftops. There was a wonderful play of colors that started
off with yellow before it turned into pink and purple then finally blended with
the remnants of the nocturnal blue. Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! I ran like mad
through the backyards and felt something running down my arm. I immediately
knew it was blood. My blood.
That damn
beast must have had a go at me with its claws. That’s another scar. Great! I
already had a notable assortment of those. Almost every type of monster had
left a mark on me, except the vampires, and I really had no intention of
getting too close to those.
Racing through town, I felt like I was running in
place. The church wasn’t yet within sight. “Please, please, please!” I begged
and looked over my shoulder. Panic overcame me after I realized that the
monster had caught up with me and was getting ever closer. Shit! Why was I so
slow today? I ran through an empty intersection. The traffic lights were on
orange, like every night after a certain hour. I turned around the corner at
the Chinese restaurant where red paper lanterns hung down golden tassels and
colorful plastic flowers sat on the windowsills. I zigzagged hoping to shake
the monster off, but it was no use. It was still on my tail. Desperate, I
whispered Father Michael’s name and tried to imagine what he’d say to spur me
on and make me run faster. But then I saw the church tower. The cross on top
looked down at me. Thank God!
I gathered every bit of strength I had and raced down
the alley towards the church. I ran, winding my way around the trees. I heard
the monster panting behind me. I couldn’t see it, but it sounded like it just
dashed through beds of flowers. In the corner of my eye, I saw rose bushes and
soil flying about. People would probably think that a bunch of drunkards were
on a rampage again. Then I saw Father Michael. He was standing on the stairs in
front of the church door. His dark silhouette paced restlessly back and forth.
The lanterns’ yellow light cast a black shadow on the walls of the church.
I was so
glad to see him I started crying. That’s
not a good idea, Ada! The tears
obscured my vision. I blinked a few times, but the tears in my eyes just
wouldn’t stop coming. I called Father Michael’s name and saw how he turned
abruptly. His cassock fluttered. How long had he been waiting there for me?
I
couldn’t wait to reach him and be inside the safe haven of the church walls. My
feet weren’t quick enough and I stumbled. I tripped over the curb. I thrashed
around with my arms before I fell down flat on my face. I felt my hands and
knees scraping the asphalt as I heard Father Michael shouting. I struggled back
up on my feet and looked at the church. The Father came running towards me
across the square. “Where’s the sword?” he shouted.
I
automatically reached to my side but there was nothing. Damn! I must have
dropped it as I fell. I looked around and saw it a few meters away. Just as I
wanted to run and get it, the Father pushed me aside and grabbed it. I watched
the scene with big, wide eyes. My heart almost stopped when I saw the monster
getting ready to jump. The Father stood there calmly. He looked like a statue
holding a sword and waiting for the right moment to use it. The monster took
off and pounced at him. One of the two screamed but I couldn’t tell who. The
only thing I could clearly discern was the Father standing right under the
monster, which was hovering over him. Father Michael’s arm swung up before the sword
slashed the monster’s belly open. The Father turned and whirled around before
he finally settled on his knees behind the dead monster.
Mesmerized, I glared at him. I had never seen anyone
move like that. He was as gracious and supple as a dancer, yet as precise and
relentless as a machine that had only one purpose: to kill.
I
couldn’t take my eyes off him as I walked towards him. He took my breath away.
He looked like a knight on his knees before his king, offering his sword in
allegiance.
“That was
… incredible!” I murmured, looking back and forth at him and then the dead
monster.
Father
Michael raised his head and looked at me, but didn’t really see me. His eyes
were distant, almost veiled. He seemed to be in some kind of trance. He blinked
before the veil fell off.
“Yeah,
really incredible!” he repeated sarcastically. He got up. “What the hell was
the matter with you?” he said, snapping at me. He came towards me and stood
right in front of my face. He was so furious, he panted and breathed quickly. I
felt every breath of his on my skin.
He scared
me and I started to stutter. When he started swearing, I knew he was really,
really mad.
“You’re
hurt,” he interrupted as his tone of voice suddenly mellowed. He grabbed my arm
roughly to check the injury. Feeling the pain, I took a strong, deep breath.
“I’m sorry,” he said
gently, his eyes softening. “You go on ahead. I’ll be right with you and see to
your wounds. I just need to take care of this here,” he said, pointing at the
dead monster.
Fun fact about Nadja's writing...
"I don’t eat green vegetables. If there’s something green on my plate I don’t touch the meal! I gave Ada, the huntress, the same strange quirk."
About the Author...
Nadja Losbohm was born on December 14th, 1982 and lives in Berlin,
Germany. Her first fantasy novel "Alaspis - The search for eternity"
(German edition available only) was published in 2012. Since then she
has published the popular series of fantasy romance books "The
Huntress". In German there are parts 1-4 available (ebook and
paperback). "The Huntress - The Beginnings" is the first part of the
series and the first English book Nadja Losbohm has published.
Currently she is working on the 5th part of the "The Huntress" series of books.
Currently she is working on the 5th part of the "The Huntress" series of books.
Nadja loves writing, reading, music, movies, photography and travelling.
Her favorite authors are Karen Marie Moning, J. R.R. Tolkien, J.K.
Rowling, Robin LaFevers, Simon Beckett and Cody MacFadyen.
Where to purchase “The Huntress” and her other books:
Amazon.com
Social media links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nadlo82
Goodreads Author page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6644026.Nadja_Losbohm
Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/Nadja-Losbohm/e/B009SIDWIW/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
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