New Moon by Megan J. Parker & Nathan Squiers
Genre: Paranormal Reverse Harem, Urban Fantasy
Goodreads | Amazon
It’s hard to hide when the forbidden magic you wield is written on your skin…
Skin witch” Mikkie Locke has spent her life running; running from her past, running from hunters, and running from a destiny she doesn’t want. And when you’re a Taroe working in an “in plain sight” magic shop, that’s easier said than done. Every day she’s away from the protection of her tribe is a day she’s risking death. The enchanted tattoos that cover her body are a constant reminder of who and what she is are a beacon to her enemies that scream “KILL ME!” to those who hunt her and other nonhumans; other creatures of the mythos community.
And the danger has just become more severe.
A new group of anti-mythos hunters have come to town, and she knows that the time has come once again to run. But Mikkie is tired of running, and between her anger, her assets, and the small team of four strong, sexy men who have her back, she’s beginning to think she might have a chance.
But in an ever-changing world, this breed of hunter has decided to make changes of their own. The stage is set for a war, and there’s more on the line than their lives…
Author Q&A
with Nathan Squiers
Can you, for those who don't know you already, tell something about yourself and how you became an author?
Nathan Squiers: I suppose the best answer is that I managed to turn struggle and tragedy into a career. I was in a bad place in my late-teens, deeply depressed, and I began to write a suicide letter from the point of view of somebody else. At the time I just didn’t care enough about myself to even think whoever would be reading the message would care if it was about ME, so I poured my thoughts into another person and started “building.” Eventually it got to the point where I liked HIM more than I liked ME, so I decided I’d at least write his story; make him a survivor where I wasn’t. By the time I finished his dark, vengeful tale and given him a reason to go on, I’d wound up “learning” to feel the same. I decided I wanted to live—wanted to spend that life writing—and both my career and the Crimson Shadow series began at the same time.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Nathan Squiers: “When” is sort of a tough one. I always liked to read as a kid. I was actually the “geeky” one in class who spent his recesses in the corner of the playground reading Goosebumps or Animorphs or basically anything else I could get my hands on. (I used to get in trouble for bringing “grown-up” books like Stephen King’s IT to school with me—something my mother always thought was a riot.) Because of this, I ALWAYS liked to write. I could say I FIRST felt like a writer when my second grade teacher let me do a creative sci-fi story instead of the regular “What I did over the weekend” story we had to do at the start of each week. When the class enjoyed what I’d done, I could say I first felt like a writer then. (Looking back on it, though, I’d been playing make-believe and creating adventures with action figures for years prior to that, which I’d consider a form of writing in-and-of itself; I believe we all start off as “writers,” it’s just harder to hold onto as we grow.) Beyond that, in the more traditional sense of the word, I suppose I first felt like a writer in my early teens. That was when I really started filling up notebooks.
What is your favorite part of this book and why?
Nathan Squiers: I think my favorite part of New Moon is the chapter when two of the central protagonists, Mikkie and Raith, go to a secluded part of the country at night to reminisce about somebody they’d both lost as well as to help Mikkie for an upcoming battle. I like to think that the book as a whole represents growth for all of the characters, and they all get their moment to “shine” in that chapter, but there’s a definite… hmm, let’s call it a “shift” in both Mikkie and Raith during the scene in the country. There’s magic, there’s action, and then there’s love. A LOT of love. It’s a lot of fun on the surface—all very flashy and cinematic and titillating—but there’s a lot of toxic emotional barriers that are broken down as well as heartwarming revelations. It’s one of the chapters in the book that really just has it all AND also serves as a very crucial turning point for all the players.
If your book had a candle, what scent would it be?
Nathan Squiers: Tragedy, sex, and blood. Or… uh, let’s say “pine, sage, and raspberries with a hint of lime… and sex and blood.”
Nathan Squiers’ take on writing (answers multiple questions here):
The question of writing—and all questions that stem from all things to do with writing—boil down, in my opinion, to a single point: freedom. Total and unlimited freedom. One can write whatever they want, however they want to, and with whatever tools or methods they can cook up in their heads. I grew up reading anything I could get my hands on, and I LOVED comic books and movies. I get asked what my favorite books are or who my favorite authors are, and my mind starts mashing obvious answers—authors like Joe Hill or Neil Gaiman or books like Nightlife or The Outsider—along with the answers like, “The Killing Joke” by Alan Moore or “Sin City” by Frank Miller. Then I’m suddenly thinking of movies like Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water or Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, as well. And, honestly, the reason is because I’ve taken inspiration from all of these places and LOTS more. I’ll write a scene, for example, and think, “I want to try to capture the essence of the color palette they used in that two-page spread in that graphic novel,” or maybe something like, “I’d REALLY like to write a scene that creates a sense of that action sequence in the movie I saw last weekend.” I love books—worship books—and I love the authors that write them even more, but I suppose I read to be entertained; I typically go to other forms of entertainment to be inspired. And I suppose that’s what I mean when I say writing is about freedom. You get crazy things like “how do I recreate a visual using only words” stuck in your head and you just roll with it; you’re totally free to do so. Whether or not what comes out of it works is a problem to worry about after the writing is finished.
Do you prefer to write in silence or with noise? Why?
Nathan Squiers: I typically write to music (unless I’m writing songs, which has come up a few times in the past, especially for my novel, ‘Death Metal’), but it CANNOT be music with English lyrics. Most of my playlist is Japanese metal and “Visual Kei” (bands like Dir en Grey Ayabie and Rentrer en Soi), but there’s some German and Finnish bands in my “WRITING PLAYLIST,” as well. (Tidbit some readers might find interesting: one of my favorite German bands is Oomph! and I try to work the name of the band just once in a book if I’m able. Be sure to look for it 😉)
Describe your writing style.
Nathan Squiers: “emotionally chaotic cinematic literacy” (essentially: mind-f*** movies on the page)
Nathan Squiers’ method & tackling the writing process:
I never answer questions like these with an approach of “THIS IS HOW YOU SHOULD DO THIS.” My method works for me, and I know this because I tested myself and tried new things and made “games” out of figuring out what worked better. For example: I always outline, and, through the outlining process, I learn what thing(s) I’ll need to research in particular. For the things I can immediately research on the internet—protocols for this-or-that, jargon, various historical tidbits, fact-checking and the like, for example—I’ll typically do so. Other sorts of research, visiting a particular site for reference or talking to a certain person for expertise in a certain field, I’ll make notes of so I can schedule it later. I always write at the beginning of the day—I am what I refer to as a “method writer” (like a method actor, I “connect” with the story) and so, if I’m at a particularly sad or angry part of a story, I’ll typically “come back” from writing feeling sad or angry without any real reason. It’s not fun to go to sleep with lingering emotions like that, so I always allow a “buffer” period to come down from writing. I never write without a bottle of water or a cup of coffee out of reach, and I’ll typically always start a writing day on the same song of my playlist (Thorny Rain Break by Rentrer en Soi). If I have to get up, I’m typically composing scenes in my head that I’ll “jot down” when I return to my desk, and then I’ll write them how I thought them when I get to that part. I try to be very “professional” in my writing process, because it forces me to keep my focus. These are things that I know work for me, and it’s a system that’s helped me to stick to my projects. Does this mean that it’s the right method for everyone? Not at all. I encourage people to try my method—modifying whatever they need as they do—and see if any of it works for them. As a writing consultant, I work with a lot of people (both aspiring writers as well as established authors) and I’ve found that, while a decent number will “cherry pick” a few of my methods and adapt them into their own, no two writers ever really share the same routine or approach. And, frankly, they shouldn’t; I imagine if they did all writing would sound the same and it’d be dull as hell.
Megan J. Parker lives in upstate New York and is normally found lounging in the writing office with her husband and fellow author, Nathan Squiers.
Since the debut of her first novel, Scarlet Night, Megan J. Parker has gained international recognition and has been a bestseller in paranormal romance and dark fantasy. Her first novel, Scarlet Night, also was a runner up for 2013's Best New Series Award on the blog, Paranormal Craving. In 2016, she became a USA Today bestselling author and since then, has been on the list three times.
On her down time, she likes reading and designing new logos and videos. Her passion for telling stories is portrayed in all her work and when there's a story to tell, you can be sure she'll tell it to its full extent. She is finally fulfilling her dream of owning a design company along with her literary career at EmCat Designs.
Nathan Squiers, along with his loving wife & fellow author, Megan J. Parker, two incredibly demanding demons wearing cat-suits, and a pair of "fur baby" huskies, is a resident of Upstate New York. When he isn't dividing his time between writing or "nerding out" over comics, anime, or movie marathons, he's chasing dreams of amateur body building. If he can't be found in a movie theater, comic shop, or gym, chances are "the itch" has driven him into the chair at a piercing/tattoo shop... or he's been "kidnapped" by loving family or friends and forced to engage in an alien task called "fun."
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