Hiya guys, today we have Rhys Ford stopping by with the re-release of Black Dog Blues, we are privileged to have a fantastic post from Rhys and a equally fantastic giveaway. We also have mine and Tams reviews of this brilliant story, so I hope you enjoy the post and leave a comment to enter our unique giveaway! <3 ~Pixie~  

 Black Dog Blues

Rhys Ford

Ever since being part of the pot in a high-stakes poker game, elfin outcast Kai Gracen figures he used up his good karma when Dempsey, a human Stalker, won the hand and took him in. Following the violent merge of Earth and Underhill, the human and elfin races are left with a messy, monster-ridden world, and Stalkers are the only cavalry willing to ride to someone’s rescue when something shadowy appears.

It’s a hard life but one Kai likes—filled with bounty, a few friends, and most importantly, no other elfin around to remind him of his past. And killing monsters is easy. Especially since he’s one himself.

But when a sidhe lord named Ryder arrives in San Diego, Kai is conscripted to do a job for Ryder’s fledgling Dawn Court. It’s supposed to be a simple run up the coast during dragon-mating season to retrieve a pregnant human woman seeking sanctuary. Easy, quick, and best of all, profitable. But Kai ends up in the middle of a deadly bloodline feud he has no hope of escaping.

No one ever got rich being a Stalker. But then few of them got old either and it doesn’t look like Kai will be the exception.

Rhys Ford chats Black Dog Blues

Smooches and thank you for having me here to talk about Black Dog Blues!

So much excitement for this book. Coming out of DSP Publications, DSP’s boutique for genre fiction, Black Dog Blues is all urban fantasy. Kai Gracen, the main character, will have love interests—potentially both male and female—but the focus of the story is his life as a Stalker, a bounty hunter for SoCalGov, the human government of what’s left of Southern California.

Pixie asked me to talk about world-building and I have to admit, I geeked out on this one. Full-on, hard-core geeked out because I had a book where I could play with mythology, gods and monsters. Okay not so much the gods but definitely the monsters.

The premise of the world is that something glitched in the universe, causing Earth and Underhill to merge across the planes. Pieces of Earth were replaced with the elfin homeworld, Underhill, and chaos erupted. Landscapes stretched out or shrunk, monstrous animals were introduced to the environment, the Sidhe and the UnSidhe courts appeared. This phenomena is called the Merge.

In the book, people theorize the Underhill world still exists on its plane but now with humans and bits of Earth merged into it. A crossing of parallel universes if you will. Basically it allowed me to open to the door to the fantastical and combine it with a slightly futuristic Earth.

I could go on about San Diego alone.

Kai is a complicated creature—an elfin raised by a human who pretty much hates his own race, but for good reason. Okay so he’s too fond of anyone else either. He does love his cat and likes his friends. Most of all, he loves his car, a 1969 Ford Mustang modified to run both energy cells and illegal gasoline. Gasoline’s important because when he’s out on run through what was once Pendleton, he needs the power and thrust to get away from the dragons.

I blended a lot of different human cultures into this book—everything from Irish to Cantonese. The common language they speak is Singlish, which is a English-based patois common to Singapore now but in Kai’s world, the “creole” has expanded to include other cultural influences. I’ve tried to show this cultural blend in the language of the book as well as the world Kai moves around in. He’ll cast a quick prayer to Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of fire, or ride a modernized version of a tik-tik, an auto-rickshaw from India. It was important for me to blend in the world’s cultures because after the Merge occurred, it would definitely push humans together to seek safety and stability.

Kai exists in this world. He’s comfortable in it because in his mind, he is human. His outside, however, is pure elfin. This gives me a good psychological conflict to work with because it literally surprises Kai sometimes to see an elfin face staring back at him in the mirror. It affects his dealings with Ryder, a Sidhe Lord who pretty much strong arms him into doing a run up to Anaheim to retrieve a pregnant woman. And it also colours how Kai’s world sees him since the elfin aren’t numerous among human society.

I wrote Black Dog Blues because I wanted a multi-cultural world with an unapologetically grumpy bisexual elf with a sense of dark humour and a death wish. It was fantastic to write the first book and I’m so looking forward to doing the second. I’ve already started it and have it stashed, waiting to be opened up again like Pandora’s Box.  

*insert evil cackle*

Thank you for having me here! I really appreciate it. And I hope you enjoy Black Dog Blues. Many hugs and smooches.

About Rhys

Rhys Ford was born and raised in Hawai’i then wandered off to see the world. After chewing through a pile of books, a lot of odd food, and a stray boyfriend or two, Rhys eventually landed in San Diego, which is a very nice place but seriously needs more rain.

Rhys admits to sharing the house with three cats of varying degrees of black fur and a ginger cairn terrorist. Rhys is also enslaved to the upkeep a 1979 Pontiac Firebird, a Toshiba laptop, and an overworked red coffee maker.

My Blog: www.rhysford.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rhys.ford.author Twitter: https://twitter.com/Rhys_Ford

And at the Starbucks down the street. No really, they’re 24/7. And a drive-thru. It’s like heaven.

My books can be purchased, folded and first chapters read at Dreamspinner Press. http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

Giveaway

$20 Gift Certificate and an audiobook code from Audible

Just leave a comment on this post to enter

Review

Title: Black Dog Blues

Series: Kai Gracen 01

Author: Rhys Ford

Genre: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy

Length: Novel (246pgs)

ISBN: 978-1-63216-354-7

Publisher: DSP Publications (3^rd February 2015)

Heat: Low

Heart: ♥♥♥♥♥ 4 – 4 ½ Hearts (combined)

Reviewer: Tams & Pixie

Blurb: Ever since being part of the pot in a high-stakes poker game, elfin outcast Kai Gracen figures he used up his good karma when Dempsey, a human Stalker, won the hand and took him in. Following the violent merge of Earth and Underhill, the human and elfin races are left with a messy, monster-ridden world, and Stalkers are the only cavalry willing to ride to someone’s rescue when something shadowy appears.

It’s a hard life but one Kai likes—filled with bounty, a few friends, and most importantly, no other elfin around to remind him of his past. And killing monsters is easy. Especially since he’s one himself.

But when a sidhe lord named Ryder arrives in San Diego, Kai is conscripted to do a job for Ryder’s fledgling Dawn Court. It’s supposed to be a simple run up the coast during dragon-mating season to retrieve a pregnant human woman seeking sanctuary. Easy, quick, and best of all, profitable. But Kai ends up in the middle of a deadly bloodline feud he has no hope of escaping.

No one ever got rich being a Stalker. But then few of them got old either and it doesn’t look like Kai will be the exception.

Purchase Link: http://www.dsppublications.com/books/black-dog-blues-by-rhys-ford-52-b US: http://www.amazon.com/Black-Dog-Blues-Gracen-Book-ebook/dp/B00STUZHM4/ UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Dog-Blues-Gracen-Book-ebook/dp/B00STUZHM4/

Tams’ Review: ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts

Dark, gripping, intense and imaginative, Black Dog Blues is the first book in a new somewhat Urban and slightly Dystopian fantasy series full of paranormal creatures that will surprise you.

Kai Gracen is an Elf with a dark past, living as a human and working as a Stalker. He was won in a poker game by his boss and sort of father figure, Dempsey, who is now retiring so Kai is taking over the family business. Kai is an enigma. He was born an Elf, but prefers to live his life like a human. His parentage will surprise you, but he wants nothing to do with that part of his life. And while Kai would be considered bi-sexual, he is far from someone that confines his sexuality to a title or a box.

When Kai is hired to retrieve a pregnant human woman it is supposed to be an easy job, that is until the  sidhe lord Ryder shows up on his door step, intent on accompanying Kai on the job. Secrets are revealed on both sides and the job turns out to be more dangerous that Kai assumed, and then there is the lustful way Ryder eyes Kai that sets his teeth on edge. Unanswered questions prove deadly for the Elfin Stalker. Who is this human pregnant woman that Ryder is hell bent on protecting? And why is Kai’s father suddenly intent on bringing his wayward son back home?

I think I just fell in love with a fictional, slightly psychotic elf with a death wish and a snarky sense of humor. Kai is unapologetically brash and intense. He loathes his past and is determined to live his life in his own way, make his own rules. Ryder is very mysterious and secretive but the one thing he doesn’t hide is just how much he wants Kai. While there isn’t any romance per say in this story, there is an undeniable attraction between these two that Kai does an impressive job of ignoring.

There was a lot going on throughout this story, Dempsey retiring, Kai taking over, the safe transport of the pregnant woman, Ryder’s involvement in her life, Kai’s past merging with his present and the link he has to Ryder. While I was completely engrossed in this story from start to finish, I got a little confused at times with everything that was taking place, but all roads intersected along the way. There were a few unappealing secondary characters as well, but I’m thinking Ford may have plans for them somewhere in the context of this series, so I’ll file them all away for later.

Overall I thought this was a great read. As I said it is dark, imaginative, mysterious and engaging. The way Ford merged the human and Fae worlds, the history and lore of the sidhe that was told, I’m anxious to see where Ford takes Kai and Ryder and possibly Alexa in the next story. This book reminded me a lot of Holly Black’s Modern Tales of Fairy series, which is one of the best Fae series to date. If you read multiple genres like I do, or you are thinking of dipping your toe into the warm waters of the MM genre, then this book would probably be the perfect start for you.

Pixie’s Review: ♥♥♥♥♥ 4 ½ Hearts

This story is the 2nd edition and there are no changes from the 1st… but it was a pleasure to re-read this story just to make sure 😉 oh and the new cover is to die for! Elfin Kai was won in a poker game by a human Stalker, Dempsey, and was trained to be a Stalker, he is the only Elfin Stalker in southern California. Now with Dempsey retiring due to injury Kai has set up shop in San Diego, contracting out to the local SoCalGov depot to kill the monsters that were released when Underhill merged with Earth.  Kai is so merged in the human culture that he sometimes forget he was Elfin but when he is contracted to work for sidhe lord Ryder he is reminded of his past. Kai’s new contract was supposed to be an easy run, but heading up the coast during dragon-mating season to retrieve a pregnant human woman is anything but simple when he is dragged into a bloodline feud and his own past comes back to haunt him.

This is an absolutely brilliant Urban Fantasy story that has danger, horrible monsters, tempting sidhe and intriguing heroes. Kai has a mysterious past that is filled with horror, he wants nothing to do with any other Elfin and is perfectly happy with his life in the human world, it is dangerous but nothing that he hasn’t faced before and he lives by his own rules. Being forced to take a job for the sidhe lord Ryder is far from his idea of fun but if he doesn’t do it his Stalker licence could be pulled, gritting his teeth he sets out on an action packed journey that brings his bloody terrifying past back to him.

Kai is a brilliant character, he faces so much in this story and his reactions are just perfect. Kai is scarred by his past in more ways than one and his fears reach out and grab you, he has good reason to never want to see the Dusk Court again. Kai’s sexuality is fluid, male/female doesn’t matter to him he enjoys both, but some people he will steer clear of. Ryder and the other characters are there but more in the background, this is Kai’s story and although it is a great with the action, danger and Kai’s history being revealed, nobody really jumps out like Kai does so we are left wondering as to who could really catch Kai’s eye because it isn’t only Ryder who wants a taste of Kai. It left me wondering just what direction this series would head in with Kai’s love interest because Kai seemed much more receptive to the females, because even with his detailed reaction to Ryder he still seemed to welcome the females touch more than Ryder’s.

This story is very much focused on the Urban Fantasy with any romantic/sexual interest taking a back burner, the imaginative settings and terrible creatures pull you into an exciting adventure and discovering Kai’s life is interesting. There’s plenty of danger from the black dogs, dragons, Dusk sidhe and Dawn sidhe and Kai gets dragged into the Elfin world even as he tries to stay out of it. We get a dark gritty story that makes you wonder as you turn the page just what Kai will face next, and you wonder just how much more his poor body can take before it gives up.

I recommend this is you want a dark, gritty, danger filled Urban Fantasy, incredible world building, fascinating characters and just a slight hint of sexual attraction.