Guest Post and Giveaway: Where Death Meets the Devil by L.J. Hayward

We’re so pleased to have author L.J. Hayward joining us today on the tour for her new novel, Where Death Meets the Devil, from Riptide Publishing. L.J.’s talking pantsing today (no, not that kind, the writerly kind!), and she’s also offering a great giveaway, so be sure to check out those details at the end.

Welcome, L.J.!

The Problem with Pantsing

I freely admit I’m a Pantser. Meaning I write by the seat of my pants. I don’t plan. I have mad respect for those who do plan, and some jealousy. I’ve tried planning but my brain always balks at it, saying, hey, if you’re going to do this, why not just write the story now? So, yeah, I give in to peer pressure and just write the story now. Not to say I don’t have any idea of where the story is going. I have little milestones I want to hit but if the story starts heading in a different direction, I don’t panic. (Much.)

When I wrote the first chapter of Where Death Meets the Devil, it was supposed to be a flashback. Chapter two was the present moment and from there, the story would continue to unfold in regular, straightforwardness with occasional flashbacks to illuminate what was happening in the present. Then I got to the end of chapter two and my brain slyly said, hey, how about we check back in with the flashback now? You left that hanging in a fun spot, let’s see what happened then. So chapter three became part of the ‘flashback’ story, and I, slow on the uptake as usual, realised my ‘flashback’ story had as much, well, story to it as the ‘present’ story.

Thus I ended up interweaving two timelines, chapter by chapter, feeding off each other, the ‘then’ bleeding into the ‘now’, the ‘now’ echoing off the ‘then’. I did worry that no one would enjoy this format, but then I discovered the shows “Quantico” and “How to Get Away with Murder” and realised this sort of storytelling is a thing right now. Phew!

About Where Death Meets the Devil

Jack Reardon, former SAS soldier and current Australian Meta-State asset, has seen some messy battles. But “messy” takes on a whole new meaning when he finds himself tied to a chair in a torture shack, his cover blown wide open, all thanks to notorious killer-for-hire Ethan Blade.

Blade is everything Jack doesn’t believe in: remorseless, detached, lawless. Yet, Jack’s only chance to survive is to strike a bargain with the devil and join forces with Blade. As they trek across a hostile desert, Jack learns that Blade is much more than a dead-eyed killer—and harder to resist than he should be.

A year later, Jack is home and finally getting his life on track. Then Ethan Blade reappears and throws it all into chaos once more. It’s impossible to trust the assassin, especially when his presence casts doubts on Jack’s loyalty to his country, but Jack cannot ignore what Blade’s return means: the mess that brought them together is far from over, and Ethan might just bring back the piece of Jack’s soul he thought he’d lost forever.

[zilla_button url=”https://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/where-death-meets-the-devil” style=”blue” size=”large” type=”round” target=”_blank”] Available Now From Riptide Publishing [/zilla_button]

About the Author

L.J. Hayward has been telling stories for most of her life. Granted, a good deal of them have been of the tall variety, but who’s counting? Parents and teachers notwithstanding, of course. These days, the vast majority of her story telling has been in an honest attempt to create fun and exciting ways of entertaining others (and making money).

As such, she is still a mad (always provoked!) scientist in a dungeon laboratory (it has no windows—seriously, the zombie apocalypse could be going on outside and she’d have nary a clue) who, on the rare occasions she emerges into the light, does so under extreme protest and with the potential hazard of bursting into flames under the Southeast Queensland sun.

Social Links: Website || Twitter

The Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Where Death Meets the Devil, one lucky winner will receive a $10 Riptide credit! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on March 3, 2018. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!