Christine Feehan's Blog - Posts Tagged "vengeance-road"

Living a life of seclusion, abuse and death I always imagined the survivors that would eventually escape and become Torpedo Ink wouldn’t know much about Christmas. Perhaps they’d learn about it if it were associated with an assassination they were assigned, or hear about it in some secondary way, but they’d not actually experience it. Even so, Christmas in Russia isn’t the same as Christmas in America. There are different traditions and it’s even celebrated on a different day since Russia uses a Julian calendar. Christmas in Russia is celebrated in January as a rule. Also, it’s the New Year that is the bigger celebration in Russia.

Even when they went undercover for several years to bring down The Swords they lived an outlaw life full of danger and subterfuge. They would be aware of traditional practices of the holiday, but more as observers and outsiders.

Knowing about something and how it works isn’t the same as experiencing it for yourself, so regardless of how many Christmases the members of Torpedo Ink observed, it would be their first year in Caspar, CA. that they would actually participate in Christmas as a family. And of course, it would be Blythe who would insist they be active in all aspects of the celebration.
There’s something about Christmas, about holidays that bring family and friends together, that feels magical. Like love. It can slip through the toughest exterior and shine light into the hearts of those who are courageous enough to have hope. No matter how small the hope. Or how buried.

It’s not often that a writer gives a gift to her characters. I love this band of outlaws that look to care for one another and mete out justice to those who would harm the weak or innocent. One day I hope to give them all a Happily Ever After. For now, I’ll give them Christmas.
A Torpedo Christmas cominglater today on my Goodreads Blog and website. The initial story will be here on Goodreads and a slightly longer story will appear on my website later. I'll include links at the end of the story in the later blog.



Find out more about the Torpedo Ink series here- TORPEDO INK

Learn more about Vengeance Road, the next book in the Torpedo Ink Series coming January 29, 2019 - VENGEANCE ROAD

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The roar of the Harleys could be heard long before they turned off of Highway 1 toward the farm where the president of Torpedo Ink resided with his wife Blythe and his four children. Czar had put a call out for the club members to come. When he called, they answered, and they did so quickly, without question.

Steele had never liked leaving Czar and his family unprotected, no matter what the man said. He often objected to the bodyguards they left posted behind. Whatever it was couldn’t be too bad because both Reaper and Savage were watching over the family and neither had texted the code for emergency.

In tight formation, armed with weapons, prepared for anything, the members of Torpedo Ink drove through the gates of the large acreage that heralded the farm, Czar and Blythe shared with five other families. Each family had their own home and the one they went to was a two-story sprawling house surrounded by five acres that divided Blythe’s section on the farm from the others.

As the club came into the front yard where the parking was designated for their motorcycles, they could see lights like dripping icicles hanging from the eaves. The roof had been lined in blue lights shining through a bed of snow. Perched on the roof were reindeer and a sleigh filled with lighted packages in every color of blinking lights.

Candy cane lights lined the stairs and glowed around the door. Steele looked around him at the others. They were all smiling when they rarely smiled. Christmas music poured from the house as if the songs were too big to be contained. Even Maestro smiled, and he never did. The club members shook their heads as they slowly shut down their bikes.

The door burst open and Emily, the youngest of Blythe and Czar’s adopted children rushed down the stairs. “Hurry,” she shouted. “We’re going to get the lights on. Mommy said you would be the fastest cuz you’re taller, Ice and Storm. But you gotta hurry so we can decorate the tree.”

The twins looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders and allowed Emily to grab their hands. Neither had time to get their gloves off. Behind them, the rest of the club crowded close.

There were eighteen survivors of the school in Russia and they were as interdependent on one another now as they were then. All were familiar with Blythe’s house and they came and went as if it was part of their collective territory.

The house smelled of spice and cinnamon. Somehow it felt like home when they’d never had one. Blythe was always accepting of them and welcomed them around her children.

Just inside the great room, which was very open with high ceilings, was an enormous tree. They all stopped and stared at the thing. They knew others celebrated Christmas by bringing trees in the house and decorating them, but they didn’t go in people’s homes—unless they were there to kill them. That wasn’t the Christmas spirit and all of them were fairly certain Blythe wouldn’t approve.

“Um, Blythe,” Steele, the vice president of Torpedo Ink called out. “What exactly is this?” He was fairly proud of himself for censoring. They got fined by the children for foul language. He was certain the girls already had enough money for a four-year college.
Blythe came out of the kitchen, all smiles, which made Steele very suspicious. He glanced back at his brothers and Alena and Lana, the two women in their club. All looked just as suspicious as he did.

“I’m so glad you’re here. We can’t decorate the tree until you put the lights on it. Ice and Storm are tall. Transporter, you and Mechanic are the tallest. I have ladders so if you get on them on all four sides, we can maybe the get the lights up fast so the kids can decorate tonight.”

Ice, Storm, Transporter, and Mechanic backed up and stared up the tree until they were looking at the top which was nearly hitting the sixteen-foot ceiling.
“You don’t have anyone for us to beat up for you, Blythe? Some kid maybe giving Kenny a hard time,” Ice asked. “We could do that for you.”

“Or kill them if it’s one of the girls,” Storm offered. “Anyone giving them a hard time deserves an unmarked grave.”

Blythe laughed as though they didn’t mean it. Steele joined her, now that he knew he wasn’t the one having to climb the ladder and pretend he knew how the hell to put on Christmas lights. He leaned into Blythe. “This was Czar’s idea, wasn’t it? To railroad us into putting on the lights so he didn’t have to.”

“You know that man so well,” she replied, her eyes dancing with merriment.

Being with Blythe made them all happy. She was just so accepting of them, of their lack of social graces, of the gaps in their knowledge, of everything about each of them.

“Don’t understand this Christmas shi.. stuff,” he corrected quickly. “What’s it all about?”

The others nodded, all looking to Blythe the way they often did when nothing made sense to them. She found herself in the middle, surrounded by all seventeen of them. Where Czar was, was anyone’s guess. Steele figured upstairs taking a nap after wearing himself out laughing.

Blythe was Blythe and she always tried to answer their questions as honestly as possible. “I celebrate Christmas as both a religious holiday and a fun traditional one with the children. I want them to have both. I take them to church and talk to them about the Christian aspect of Christmas because I believe in it and want them to have the strength and morals that come with those beliefs.”

Ice shook his head. “Some of us don’t have a hope in hell, babe. God turned his back on us a long time ago.”
“He doesn’t do that, Ice. I know that supposed school you were in was the worst, but it wasn’t God who put you there.”

“Maybe not, but to save others, we had to sell our souls to the devil,” Ice explained. He meant every word. “Easier not to think about those things.” His voice rang with sincerity.

Blythe was Blythe. She didn’t argue, but she did lessen the blow. She shook her head slightly. “Honey, selling your soul to save someone else isn’t binding. There are other beliefs and traditions in every country around the world, some in conflict with the religious beliefs of Christmas. I teach the children my personal belief, which is everyone has the right to believe what they feel in their hearts. I don’t have the right to judge nor do I want my children to. I want every human being to feel safe and happy.”

“What’s all the presents about, and the Christmas tree with all these decorations?” Steele asked, indicating the mountains of decorations Blythe had waiting to be put up in the room.

“Fun,” Blythe said immediately. “Creating traditions for your family and friends. At least that’s what it is for me. These children need tradition and fun just as much as they need me teaching them about faith.”

Steele knew she was implying they all needed the fun as well. The others immediately went to her decorations and began going through them.



Thank you for spending a moment with Torpedo Ink. If you'd like to read an extended version of this vignette you can join my free online community and read more here- Extended Story



I wish everyone a happy holiday!

We've started the party and you're invited! Vengeance Road will be released January 29th and we're already celebrating! Today I've got something fun for you! It's a game where you find out about your own motorcycle club! Be sure to share in the comments so I can see your club name and what the club does!







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I wanted to get across that the MC is a cohesive group and I dreamed of having several Harleys taking off or coming in, driving down the road or lined up with riders straddling them. I love motorcycles and I knew I had to have that as part of the book trailers starting with Vengeance Road. So, we put a call out for friends, family and volunteers to help us create some stock footage specific to the Torpedo Ink series with some bonus footage specific to Vengeance Road.


It was a long day. It started around 8 AM and ended at 8PM. There was a morning crew and an evening crew since the day was going to be so long. All in all there were a little over 20 people participating.


Meeting everyone, hanging out, it was one of the most fun things I’ve done in a long while. There’s some footage that I won’t be able to show for a while since it would be a spoiler if anyone saw it. That was fun to watch it be filmed though.



I loved the wonderful ladies who played Lana and Alena! They were perfect for those characters and they both had a great badass look! LOL

We had four locations where we were shooting. We did some on the road shots, some at a tattoo parlor, at my home and then at a garage. We tried to think of as many shots as we could given that I haven’t written all the books yet so we didn’t know specifically what was needed with a few exceptions. We have riding scenes, tattooing scenes, fighting, kissing, a bar scene, shooting and I’m sure I’m forgetting some. LOL


It was a long, fun day and I enjoyed meeting everyone and watching my characters come to life.

Watch the Vengeance Road Book Trailer HERE text



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I’ve always loved music and it’s inspired me in so many ways throughout my life. I’ve often heard songs that cause me to think about a character or scene in one of my books. Sometimes I’ll hear music that inspires a scene I’m writing at that moment.

Music and emotion go hand in hand, in my opinion. And music can enhance a scene in a movie to the point that a soundtrack becomes popular or a particular song in a movie becomes iconic, like Celine Dion’s song My Heart Will Go on from the movie Titanic, or Shallow from the 2018 version of A Star is Born. I love the entire soundtrack for The Greatest Showman. Music can be the heart of a scene or it might be the accent that facilitates an emotion within a scene.

There are several songs that I thought about or listened to while writing Vengeance Road. From that playlist in my head, I chose five songs I wanted to share with you.
These song may not have the same meaning or impact for someone else that they have for me. And that’s okay. Music can be very personal for a lot of reasons. I do hope you’ll enjoy checking out the music.

Some of the songs are explicit. If you read the Torpedo Ink series then this isn’t going to shock you. But, if you’ve not tried the series or not ready any motorcycle club books know that the language can be rough. It’s a rough world and I try to make my characters and club as real as I can.

I’ve linked to YouTube videos of the songs. Some of them have the lyrics, some do not. But, this was the easiest way I could think of the share the music.

Come Back Home by Callum Scott - COME BACK HOME



Steele sacrificed what he wanted most, Breezy, the woman he fell in love with. Letting her go was for her own safety, but to force her to leave he had to be cruel. In his mind he always meant to find her again and bring her back home to him.

From the lyrics-

I'm burning like a fire, will someone help my pain?
I'm drowning above the water, oh, help me breathe again
And I, I can't let you go, so when you're ready, come back home
Full lyrics here-
LYRICS

__________________________________________________

The Scientist - Coldplay -

The Scientists - with lyrics



There’s power in regret even when we know that what we did was the right thing. Steele and Breezy’s love story is full of regret and longing. Breezy was an unexpected gift that Steele wanted to keep for himself. But, when he knew the danger level was about to explode he was determined to keep her safe at any cost. Even though sending her away was one of the hardest things he had ever done.

From the lyrics-

Nobody said it was easy
It's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be this hard
Oh take me back to the start
Full lyrics here-
LYRICS

__________________________________________________

Riot – Camino -
RIOT

Torpedo Ink is more than just a motorcycle club. More than just highly trained assassins. They’re a family forged from survival and horror. Attacking one means taking on the entire club. These aren’t people you mess with and walk away from. They aren’t going to fight fair. They aren’t going to forgive. They are a riot of violence and they defend their home.

From the lyrics. -

I'll start a riot in the middle of the night
I will defend my
Home
And start a riot in the middle of the night
Full lyrics here-
LYRICS

_______________________________________________

Wrong side of Heaven – Five Finger Death Punch -
WRONG SIDE OF HEAVEN




Redemption is a big part of the Torpedo Ink series. From being abused as children, to being trained as assassins to escaping to the United States in order to stop a human trafficking ring and eventually create their own way of life and find a home. But, surviving such a horrific beginning isn’t something that leaves you just because you escaped it. The members of Torpedo Ink know they’re dangerous. They know the chances of having a normal life just aren’t there for them. But, they also know they won’t tolerate seeing that kind of abuse anywhere else. They’ve found focus and reason and they will use their considerable skills to save others.
Life tattooed hell onto their souls and they’ve taken turned it into a tool to stop evil. They now walk a fine line toward redemption.

From the lyrics-

Arms wide open
I stand alone
I'm no hero and I'm not made of stone
Right or wrong
I can hardly tell
I'm on the wrong side of heaven and the righteous side of hell

Full lyrics here-
LYRICS


_______________________________________________

Bad Company – Five Finger Death Punch -

BAD COMPANY



This song was originally done by the band Bad Company but I chose the Five Finger Death Punch version because it’s edgier.

Thought Torpedo Ink now has found a home in Caspar and are trying to make lives for themselves it doesn’t mean they’re apologetic for who they are. They were formed into dangerous assassins and have taken those skills and re-shaped their lives and their purpose. Knowing you’re dangerous and that you’ve done horrible things in order to survive doesn’t mean you have to apologize for who you are. And you can be proud of the bad company that you keep.

From the lyrics-

Bad company
I can't deny
Bad, bad company
Till the day I die
Until the day I die

Link to full lyrics-
LYRICS

_____________________________________________

Nobody Praying for Me – Seether -
NOBODY PRAYING FOR ME




There are levels of loneliness in the world that I’m sure we’ve all experienced to some degree in some way or another. Each member of Torpedo Ink must struggle with their own inner demons and their own brand of loneliness. There’s also a type of loneliness that lives within a group. Sadly, the world is capable of turning its back on entire groups of people. Torpedo Ink, as a club, suffers from its own brand of loneliness. It’s the knowledge that they’ll never truly fit into society. Knowing they will be judged by outsiders who know nothing about their life struggle. It’s the knowledge that acceptance and love may only happen within their own small circle.

But, for some, this kind of loneliness galvanizes them into a unit so strong that nothing can rip it apart. It’s like saying, “Even if no one else accepts and loves you, I will, because I know your story. Because I am part of you. And everything I am will protect you and care for you. So, fuck them.” That kind of strength can help fill the void. And it can make you very, very dangerous.

From the lyrics-

I'm a whisper lost upon wind
I'm the ember that'll burn you down
I'm the water that'll drown you
I'm a star that's just a black hole now
I'm a terrifying danger
Full lyrics here-
LYRICS

________________________________________________

Behind Blue Eyes - Limp Bizkit -
BEHIND BLUE EYES (with lyrics)



For me this is Steele. His amazing blue eyes see beyond and behind what’s right in front of him. He knows himself. He knows what he wants.

From the lyrics-

But my dreams they aren't as empty
As my conscience seems to be
I have hours, only lonely
My love is vengeance
That's never free

Full lyrics here-
LYRICS


_______________________________________________

Those are a few of the songs I’ve listened to that make me think of Vengeance Road in some way. I would love to hear your suggestions for music that you feel represents Torpedo Ink or a character from Torpedo Ink. If you leave a link, I’ll go listen to your music suggestions

Growing up in cruelty and abuse as children, the men and women of Torpedo Ink learned more than how to seduce and kill. They learned that they could do more than survive. They could create their own family, with each other, and from that love and loyalty became ingrained in them.

In Bound Together the club members found that they can give their love and loyalty beyond just their core group. Not only did they accept Blythe as Viktor’s wife, but they accepted and adopted several children they had saved from abusive lives. They realized they want a home and to attempt to have lives that interact with society.




In Judgment Road they learn some valuable lessons about adding to their community and expanding to accept others when Reaper finds Anya and wants to keep her for himself. Mistakes were made by the group, lessons learned, but in the end there was hope because now both Czar (Viktor) and Reaper had found love.
Vengeance Road expands on that theme of hope, family and acceptance in a new way. The issue of redemption and consequences comes into play. We’ve seen what Torpedo Ink is willing to do for innocents. What they’ll do for each other. Now, imagine what they would do when they find that their VP, Steele, has a son he didn’t know about, and that son has been kidnapped by horrible men.



AUDIO SNIPPET FROM VENGEANCE ROAD




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Like all good heroes and heroines it’s important to know they have a code and that they stick by it. Torpedo Ink’s members certainly have a code and I wanted to look at that code and how they use that to extract justice.

All of the Torpedo Ink books are paranormal romance. Each book has had an element of the paranormal in it. Some stories will require more paranormal elements than others. I enjoy writing paranormal for a lot of reasons, one being that I have greater flexibility with the characters, their situations and their behavior.

With my Leopard Series it’s obvious these people can’t be compared to normal humans as far as their needs and behavior goes. Shapeshifters, in my world, are a blend of both animal and human. Readers understand this and are more tolerable to certain behaviors as long as they follow the traits of the animal. I compare my Torpedo Ink members with them to an extent. And, I hope readers realize the members of the club can’t be compared with normal humans any more than the Leopard shapeshifter characters.



Each member of Torpedo Ink share experiences that changed them to such a degree that they developed certain “gifts” to help them survive. As children they watched their parents be murdered and then they were taken away to a facility to be sexually abused. Those who survived the abuse were expected to become assassins and take the lives of other people on command. Being forced to take another person’s life is itself abuse. It would change you. Add to that that they were among other children, over 200, and watched them die. Watched abuse kill them. Watched illness and injury kill them. Watched that way of life kill them. They were trained to do unspeakable things. If they didn’t comply they would be punished, or worse, someone they loved would be. A sibling. A friend.
287 children were brought into that training facility and abused. Only 18 survived. What was it about these 18 that allowed them to live when so many others died? Not only did they live, but they strategized, began killing their trainers, and escaped their fate.

Traumatized. Without guidance from adults who would care for them. Not being taught how to act in society unless it was tied to an assignment they were given. They were human beings, but not human in the sense most people understand.



These are intelligent people without normal societal social skills. People who knew right from wrong and who wanted freedom and they wanted justice. They wanted the things life had initially denied them. But, they realized that all those years of constant trauma had changed them to the extent they could never live in normal society. Together, they knew they could survive. Together, they were family. Together, they had purpose which was to find a way to live free and to stop anyone who would harm the innocent.

After escaping the training facility they went on the hunt to stop the man behind it all. In order to do this, they had to pretend to be part of a motorcycle club. Once they took care of what they’d set out to do they found the MC life fit them. They were, in their own way, outlaws. Unfit for normal society. They had their own code and set of rules. The bikes gave them a sense of freedom. There was structure. And behavior expectations from society for an MC was to their advantage. People would be wary. They would have a certain level of fear inherently. They would be careful of how they interacted with them.



An MC is male-dominant. That is a fact. Torpedo Ink has two female members who are fully patched, which is not how most MCs work. As a matter of fact, it’s very rare. Other than Lana and Alena though, women are treated primarily as accessories. That’s the life. If you don’t like it, don’t enter it. The important thing is to follow rules. That said, Torpedo Ink still treats women with respect within the boundaries and expectations set within that society. They do not allow women to be abused. They would never tolerate rape.

Torpedo Ink’s personal mission is to stop abusers, especially pedophiles. They have their own brand of justice. Their own ideas of acceptable punishment. They stop others from doing to children what was once done to them and in doing so; they have their justice over and over again.

These are people who will always suffer from PTSD. There is no cure for them. They won’t be magically healed. There will always reside in them a level of violence. Always. It’s how they use that violence that offers them redemption. These people are damaged and broken. You can’t judge them according to normal human laws, behavior or societal expectations.
What they need and what they long for now is acceptance for who and what they are. They hope to find redemption for the things they were forced to do as children. They hope to find someone who will see how broken they are and love them anyway. Someone who could love a Torpedo Ink member would have to be special themselves in some way. They would need to accept difficult facts and challenging behaviors and needs.

Love and justice. Those things will always be part of a Torpedo Ink happy-ever-after.


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It's Romance Week and I have some fun things planned! Starting with this fun Torpedo Ink Word Search Game! You can play it here or link over play online!
PLAY ONLINE






You can also download it to play!
DOWNLOAD PUZZLE









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So much is happening in 2020!

I'm releasing 6 new books this year!




Be sure to check out the Kindle Highlights and Annotations for Vengeance Road and let me know what you think of my comments to your most highlighted scenes in the book! See there HERE




WalMart has been wonderful with the re-releases and new, exclusive covers. This year it's GhostWalkers! If you love collecting the new, alternate covers, you can start with this one! It's only through WalMart and in-store.



It's never too late to give gifts. If you'd like to have Lethal Game personalized for yourself or a friend it's not too late! You can request a short message and I'll sign the book! You can get all the information here -Gallery Bookshop





If you'd like to order Lethal Game with just my signature you can do that over an BN.com!



Last, but not least, if you're not part of my online community you may want to consider joining! This year we will have more exclusive goodies! Right now we have a mini teaser for Vendetta Road with a second one coming soon. You'll see Ice's point of view, then Soleil's. They're both fun! You can sign up here- COMMUNITY
It's easy, we don't SPAM you and there's lots of positive energy and fun there!



I don't have anything planned as far as conferences at this time, but you can always check the website at a later date.

Thank you for giving me such an amazing year! I look forward to spending this one with you, too!

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