Guest Author: Christina Henry

Christina HenryToday, I am excited to welcome Christina Henry, author of the fabulously new novel, Black Wings.

As an Agent of Death, Madeline Black is responsible for escorting the souls of the dearly departed to the afterlife. It’s a 24/7 job with a lousy benefits package.

Maddy’s position may come with magical powers and an impressive wingspan, but it doesn’t pay the bills. And then there are her infuriating boss, tenant woes, and a cranky, popcorn-loving gargoyle to contend with.

Things start looking up, though, when tall, dark, and handsome Gabriel Angeloscuro agrees to rent the empty apartment in Maddy’s building. It’s probably just a coincidence that as soon as he moves in demons appear on the front lawn. But when an unholy monster is unleashed upon the streets of Chicago, Maddy discovers powers she never knew she possessed. Powers linked to a family legacy of tarnished halos.

Powers that place her directly between the light of Heaven and the fires of Hell…

Make sure you stick around to the end. We’ll be giving away a copy of Black Wings.
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Wanting What You Can’t Have

The main character of my new novel Black Wings is a thirtysomething woman who’s never had a romantic relationship. It’s kind of difficult to meet guys and date like an ordinary person when you’re an Agent of death in a world where people don’t even know that you exist. As Maddy herself says, “Attraction was not something I had a lot of experience with. I spent so much time alone as an Agent, rarely mixing with non-Agents, and I never dated. The job just wasn’t conducive to a normal social life. How do you explain to your date that you have to leave the movie for fifteen minutes as the hero is about to rescue the damsel because you have to pick up a soul that just had a heart attack while driving on Lower Wacker?”

Soon after the novel opens she meets Gabriel, a guy who seems too perfect to be true (and of course he is, because what fun it would it be if he wasn’t?). Once she discovers his real agenda she’s got to decide 1) whether or not to trust him, and 2) whether or not she should act on the growing feelings she has for him.

Pretty soon, though, it becomes apparent that wanting Gabriel is not only an improbable dream but an impossible one. There are some tremendous obstacles in their way and even though she knows that she should let Gabriel go Maddy just can’t reconcile herself to the idea that they can’t be together.

There is something about the lovers that are eternally kept apart that has always been fascinating to me. Romeo and Juliet, Buffy and Angel…in real life we like our relationships to run smoothly, but there is something so engaging about watching another couple’s angst.

I think it’s because a contented couple is just no fun from a storytelling perspective. A story where the boy and girl meet, fall in love, and live happily ever after with no difficulties is just not an interesting tale. It’s so much more fun for your heroine (and hero) to want what they can’t have. From a fiction writer’s perspective, strife is definitely the food of love.

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CHRISTINA HENRY is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago and enjoys running long distances, reading anything she can get her hands on and watching movies with samurai, zombies, and subtitles in her spare time. She lives in Chicago with her husband and son. You can see her on the web at www.christinahenry.net

Contact Info
Website: www.christinahenry.net
Social Media: Facebook

Want to purchase Christina’s novels?
Black Wings at Amazon
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Black WingsThank you Christina for visiting Literary Escapism.

Contest Time! Christina and I have a copy of Black Wings to give away.  All you have to do is answer this one question: It’s the Christmas season, so…what do you want to show up under the tree that probably won’t be there?  Or simply ask Christina a question. (US/Canda Only)

As always, there’s more ways of getting your name in the hat (remember, these aren’t mandatory to enter, just extra entries):

  • +1 for each place you post about today’s contest on your blog, social network, or anywhere you can. Digg it, stumble it, twit it, share it with the world. Wherever you share it, make sure you add a link to it along with your answer.
  • +1 to any review you comment on, however, comments must be meaningful. Just give me the title of the review and I’ll be able to figure it out from there.
  • +1 If you are a follower of Literary Escapism on Facebook and/or Twitter
  • +10 Purchase any of Christina’s novels (listed above) or any novel through LE’s Amazon store or the Book Depository sometime during this contest and send a copy of the receipt VIA email for your purchase to: jackie AT literaryescapism DOT com. Each purchase is worth ten entries.

One thing I do add to my contests…the winner must post a review of the novel someplace. Whether it is on their own blog, Amazon, GoodReads, LibraryThing or wherever, it doesn’t matter. Just help get the word out.

The contest will stay open until December 25th, at which time I’ll determine the winner with help from the Research Randomizer and the List Randomizer.

About Jackie 3282 Articles
I am a 30-something SAHM with two adorable boys and a supportive husband who is very tolerant of my reading addiction. I love to read and easily go through about a dozen books a month – well I did before I had kids. Now, not so much. After my first son was born, I began to take my hobby of reviewing a little more serious and started Literary Escapism to help with my sanity. I love to discuss the fabulous novels I’ve read and meeting all the wonderful people in the book blogging community has been amazing.

17 Comments

  1. I would love to get an ereader, but that is just going to have wait a while yet. I really wish Santa would bring me one though. *sigh*

  2. Teak bookshelves is what I’d like but will probably have to wait until next year. Added Blackwings to my nook wishlist. Looks great.

  3. I’d love an amazon gift card too so I can get all the ebooks I want. My family doesn’t tend to get excited about gift cards though (or books) so it’ll be interesting to see what I actually get. :-)

  4. I would love to see books under the tree or a gift card to a bookshop, but I know that won’t happen. DH thinks I have too many books…he’s so silly.

  5. This might sound crazy since I’m in my 30’s but I’d love the whole set of Harry Potter lego’s. I do lego’s with my 4yr old little boy and I would like to do something other than race cars =) and I love The Harry Potter series. I also would love “Black Wings” under my tree. I’ve been wanting this book so if I don’t win it, I’m going to buy it. Thanks for the chance to win.
    +1 twittered at http://twitter.com/Tanya1224/status/15615149079527424
    +1 follow you on twitter @Tanya1224

  6. I would like to see a gift certificate to Borders that is way up in the hundreds or even thousands! Enough cash to get me a whole year’s worth of books! But that is very unlikely to happen!

    Christina, what was your road to publication like?

  7. What I’d like to see under my tree: Story, by Robert McKee; Side Jobs, by Jim Butcher; the complete Remy Chandler series, by Thomas Sniegoski. And maybe an extra hour a day to spend on reading.

    +1 Facebook follower
    +1 Twitter follower

  8. I’d like to get a brand new car for Christmas…but I’m not delusional. Other than that I would like to see the new Donkey Kong game for Wii but I probably won’t get it.

    +1 follow on twitter @throuthehaze

  9. I’d love an iPad, but I know no one is going to get one for me – I’m already planning to buy it for myself.

    +1 follower
    +1 commented on Pale Demon
    +1 commented on Gravewitch

  10. 3 points for me (follower, commented on lots of stuff , shared on FB)

    I want a counter depth refrigerator, stainless steel . We just remolded the kitchen and it *needs this fridge . This book is on my TBR list!

Comments are closed.