Pippa DaCosta's Blog - Posts Tagged "myths-and-legends"

Last July the Soul Eater series launched, introducing the world to a New York where ancient Egyptian gods are either slumbering the years away or living it up in New York (naturally, Osiris, the God of Life & Rebirth is New York's mayor!). We welcomed Ace Dante and his demon-sorceress sidekick, Shukra, into our hearts (don't let Shukra hear you say the word 'sidekick' or she'll likely stab you in the heart) as they try to keep New York relatively free of Egyptian beasties, vengeful gods and power-hungry witches.

A lot has changed since then. Ace has picked up a few new names alongside liar and thief, names like Godkiller. Now, as the Goddess Isis blackmails him into returning to Egypt - a land he had hoped never to see again - he is about to learn a few things about the old world, about the past, and how history is wrong about everything.

The truth that awaits Ace in Egypt is far more dangerous than any god.

I always knew Scorpion Trap was going to be a game-changer. So far in the series we've seen Ace struggle with his place in this world and the underworld. He has never truly fit in anywhere, and then there's the fact we - as readers - know a lot more about his life then he does.

Where is Bastet?

Scorpion Trap is out TODAY and the first book Hidden Blade is 99¢ this week. So if you haven't met Ace or Shu yet, you're in for a treat.

Happy reading everyone!

A god cannot change.
Watch me.

With the truth of Ace's terrible past revealed, our nameless soul eater has never been more lost, or more powerful.

The gods have risen, New York has fallen and the sundering is upon us.

Ace can stop the end of the world, but will he?

***

I'm going to miss this series. Ace and his efforts to steer on the side of good, Shukra and her wonderfully blunt outlook on everything (and casual murderous tendencies!), Cujo trying to fight the good fight against the gods who almost killed him, Bastet who—by the tip of Ace's sword—set a course into motion that brings us to this final book, Cat and her staunch loyalty. And the amazing cast of characters we've met along the way. Oh, and the sword, Alysdair: this is the first time I've written a character as a sword. Who doesn't love enchanted soul eating swords? I'm actually pretty fond of that blade. Even the sword gets its own story in Soul Eater.

Dayam, I'm going to miss all of that. And, judging from my emails, y'all will too (not to mention a few tongue-in-cheek death threats to continue the series (at least with a Shukra spin-off) or else! - you know who you are ;) ).

Finishing up a series is one of the hardest things an author can do, both mentally and creatively. Every loose end must be tied up. Every tossed out question, every dangling what if, and there were a lot of loose ends in Soul Eater. It was an interesting exercise, in that we (the reader) knew more than the character right up until book #5. Our main character, Ace, loses his memory early on in the series. But we don't. We know his secrets and through every book, I was very much aware of how the story Ace was telling, was different to the one we - as readers - were reading. Technically, that made it tricky. But it also made it a heck of a lot of fun because the secret was there, like a rather large sphinx in the room, waiting to be outed at any moment, like a ticking countdown clock.

I also had a lot of fun with the language and the research. Initially, I was going to use ancient Egyptian for Ace's spellwords, but if you've ever seen ancient Egyptian, it's not the most pleasing to read and frankly, would have gotten in the way of the storytelling. So I made a call to "create" the spoken language, which meant not only could my audiobook narrator actually speak it, but you can go ahead and read it without slowing the story down.

I still have the book of genuine Egyptian spells on my shelf, should, yah know, anyone think of one-starring the entire series (j/k, maybe ;) ) There are some interesting enchantments in there, if I can get my hands on the right ingredients. Shukra would have some body parts handy.

When it comes to research, Scorpion Trap, was the book where I really got my teeth into Egyptian myth. Right from the very beginning, I couldn't wait to get Ace back to Egypt. Once there, we go full on The Mummy 1999 version (the cool one, not the Tom Cruise one) complete with tomb robbing, clouds of locusts, the Hatshepsut and Senenmut "love" story, and it all comes to a climax that I can't reveal here for spoilers. I adore Egypt. I'm fascinated by the remains and relics still being discovered today. To get to play in that sandbox was a real treat.

In fact, this entire series has been a treat to write. It hasn't been without its ups and downs. Writing Osiris and Isis often made my skin want to crawl off my body and hide in a corner. But the joy of writing Ace and Shukra was truly something special. Sometimes, characters come together and they just click. Ace and Shukra... dayam... they must be one of the best urban fantasy partnerships ever, and not a hint of romance in sight! ;)

Yes, I'm going to miss them and this world.

But, there are always more book adventures to be had. So I'd better start creating the next one...

You can buy Soul Eater via my website or search your favorite vendor. The first book, Hidden Blade, is 99¢ right now, to celebrate the launch of Edge of Forever and the end of the series. www.pippadacosta.com

Happy reading!

Did you know you can get a bunch of free books from me?

Hidden Blade, Soul Eater #1, is now free everywhere.
Beyond the Veil, the first book in the Veil Series, is free everywhere.
Plus, anyone on my mailing list gets, Wings of Hope, Falling, and Chase the Dark, all free!
That's gotta be a few hours worth of reading material right there.

Sign up to my mailing list here: https://www.subscribepage.com/g5f9z4 or get the free novels from Amazon, B&N, Apple Books, Kobo etc.

Hidden Blade
Beyond the Veil
Wings of Hope
Falling
Chase The Dark