The Dawn of Angels by Vivienne Malynn & Sean Kade - Review and Author Interview

Welcome to The Dawn of Angels tour hosted by Hollow Tours!

Synopsis: Left by her mother at a young age, Kyra has grown-up in the foster system, leaving her angry and hateful towards the world. The only person she can trust is Hammond, her case worker who has watched over her since the time her mother left. When Hammond places Kyra in a foster home located in a small town, strange things begin happening and Kyra starts unraveling the mystery of her past. When Kyra’s life is threatened, she is saved by an angel, her guardian angel, Ashur, who falls from heaven to save her. Together, Ashur and Kyra must figure out why her life is in danger and stop a strange cult from bringing about the end of days. From Amazon. 

My Thoughts: Angel books have taken the reading world by storm lately. I haven't been a part of that at all. The Dawn of Angels is my first angel book, and I am so happy that I decided to get into the angel craze. The Dawn of Angels was such an amazing book. 

I love Kyra so much! She is such a strong girl and she really didn't take any crap from anyone. Her back story is really sad but watching her start to come to terms with her past was one of my favorite parts in this book. With Ashur's help she began to see that hope was still alive in the world. The authors did such an amazing job showing readers Kyra's emotional struggles. 

When Ashur falls from Heaven to save Kyra I could tell there was more to that story. Their relationship is a little rocky, and Kyra really struggles to trust Ashur but I will be very interested in reading how their relationship grows in the next book. Ashur is strong and wants nothing more than to save Kyra and then continue to keep her safe. I know he's a guardian angel but still, he didn't have to fall for her.

There were so many colorful characters in this book! Ethan is a character that I cannot wait to learn more about. He also wants to protect Kyra, and he is willing to do anything to accomplish that. The shop keeper was actually a bit of a shock to me. He kept me guessing through the book, and last part with him threw me for a loop. Kyra's foster parents and Liv were explained well and had depth. I especially felt for Liv in this book. 

I would say more but I don't want to spoil this book for someone else. I was pulled in right from the start and I didn't want to stop reading it. Now I am just waiting for the next book, so I can find out what happens. 

Rating:

Now I would like to welcome the authors of The Dawn of Angels, Vivienne Malynn and Sean Kade!

Can you tell us a little bit about yourselves? 

We are the parents of five lively children, and live in a rural suburb surrounded by eagles and coyotes. We spend our free time reading, writing, and playing make-believe with our children. In our not so free time, we teach.

What do you do when you are not writing? 

SEAN: Think about writing. Okay, maybe there is a little bit of time in there that I spend with my family. Then I write about it.

VIVIENNE: I home-school our five children and do a lot of public speaking.

When did you first start writing and when did you finish your first book? 

We started actually writing books nearly six years ago. The first book took two years, off and on, to complete. Needless to say the first book is the most difficult because you are still getting the process down and there is still a bit of trepidation. It’s hard to convince yourself that you should even be writing a book.

How did you choose the genre you write in? 

The story came first. It just happened to fit in the genre of YA Paranormal Romance. That is the beauty of independent publishing; you don’t have to stay in the artificial boundaries the publishers set. It allows for more genuine creativity. YA is also Vivienne’s favorite genre, which leads us to write more towards that audience.

Where do you get your ideas? 

SEAN: Wikipedia, books on the paranormal, websites on conspiracy theories and the National Enquirer. The stranger the better. It’s hard not to read them and get some story ideas.

VIVIENNE: I get I ideas from reading other books, and people watching.

How did you come up with your characters, Kyra, Ashur, and Ethan?

Kyra was probably the first character we looked at. We wanted a strong, no nonsense female lead. We were sick of the needy girls who just wait to be rescued that are often portrayed in teen romances. We wanted a girl with confidence and some degree of self-respect who played a major role in the resolution of the conflict. We also wanted her to be someone with depth, not your simple teenage girl whose only concern is which hunk she should date. We wanted real world problems. A person whose character is measured by how they face the challenges in their life.

Ashur was much more difficult. We didn’t want him to be too perfect because he would become too much of a cardboard cutout with no real depth. But he is an angel and is in a lot of respects completely innocent. So we stuck a lot of moral dilemmas to bring his character out. The very fact that he went against angelic law to fall for Kyra shows a deeper initiative than just following orders.

We did not want Ethan overshadowing the romance between Ashur and Kyra, at least not yet. We kept him mysterious. There is a hint of depth to him, thought it wasn’t explored in Dawn of Angels. Wait for the next book to uncover more of Ethan’s back-story. He’s an interesting character in his own right, but we don’t want to give away too much.

Do you ever experience writer’s block? 

SEAN: All the time. But you push through it. If you want to live off your writing, you can’t afford writer’s block.

VIVIENNE: Absolutely. That’s when I look to Sean for answers. J

Do you work with an outline, or just write? 

SEAN: It depends on the book and the part of the book. I usually have a general outline of the story. I try not to make it too detailed, unless it is required. In some parts of a book I make it more detailed if there is need of a specific timeline. For instance, I wrote a book where there were multiple viewpoints of characters interacting at specific times. It required a more detailed outline to get it consistent.

VIVIENNE: This is where we differ. I like a well thought out and outlined story. It helps me know where I am going and leaves less room for writer’s block.

Can you tell us about your challenges in getting your first book published? 

Considering we published on Amazon Kindle, the biggest issue was getting the format right. It was quite the learning process and we are still working on it to make it the very best it can be. The cover is also difficult when you are doing everything yourself. We wanted all of the covers in the series to fit together but that takes a lot of planning. Plus, YA romance books usually have a cover with a young beautiful girl but without the perfect model, and the perfect camera in the perfect place, we had to go with an abstract cover instead.

If you had to go back and do it all over, is there any aspect of The Dawn of Angels or getting it published that you would change? 

When it comes to the story and the book, we really put our best into writing it, so there is probably not anything we would change in that regard. The one thing we would have changed is we would have found the time to write it four years ago when we had the idea before angels were even popular.

What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write in The Dawn of Angels and why? 

SEAN: I really liked writing the scenes with the shop keeper. I really liked the character. For those who have read the book and know who the shop keeper is, plan on seeing him pop up (if you know what I mean) throughout the entire series.

VIVIENNE: Being the hopeless romantic that I am, I loved the romance scenes. Ashur is such a great guy and the thought of him watching over Kyra her whole life and gradually falling in love with her as she overcomes one obstacle after another gives me goose bumps. He loved her way before he ever fell from heaven.

How did you come up with the title? 

Four years ago when we came up with the story, we had planned on the name The Fallen. However, before we could get the book finished, the angel book market exploded and the title was taken, more than once. We struggled for awhile to figure out a name, but as we wrote the book we noticed the theme of dawn coming up over and over again. The back story talks a lot about the aeons or first generation angels and their history. It seemed to just fit that the title should be Dawn of Angels.

What project are you working on next? 

Along with writing the other books in the series, we will be writing a YA dystopia that we’re very excited about. It’s set in the future, where every person is implanted with a chip that allows them to augment reality. Of course, this also allows others to alter their reality.

Will you have a new book coming out soon? 

The second book in the Angelic Realms series, The Vigilant, will be coming out in May.

Can you tell us about your upcoming book? 

The title of the next book is The Vigilant. The title is a translation of the word grigori, which for those who aren’t up on Angel lore is the name of a group of angels who fell after falling in love with the daughter’s of Eve. As you can guess, there will be a lot more about them in the next book. And Hammond is not completely out of the picture yet. We can’t say much more than that without giving too much away. You can expect the next book to be released by May (fingers crossed).

Do you have any advice to give to aspiring writers? 

SEAN: My main advice is to keep at it. Think about that old adage, if at first you don’t succeed try, try again—except with a lot more tries. In my opinion persistence is the thing that separates those who succeed and those that don’t. However, you can do the same thing that went wrong the first time as many times as you want and no matter how many times you try it, it will most likely fail. You have to also learn from your failures.

VIVIENNE: Writers have a difficult job. They put their whole heart and soul into a project and then willingly give it to others and then ask their opinions on it. The thing we have to remember as writers is that no matter what you write, there are going to be people who love it and people who hate it. Don’t let the negative remarks stop you from becoming the writer you want to be. Take the criticism and learn from it but don’t ever let it define you.

Is there anything that you would like to say to your readers and fans? 

Thanks, first off. Without your support we could not make it as independent authors. We hope to continue to bring you quality books. We are grateful to you because without you, we could not continue to do what it is we love. Weaving a story is as magical as reading it, and we hope that you will continue to be a part of our world.

Is there any particular author or book that influenced you in any way either growing up or as an adult? 

SEAN: I have to say that Les Misrables has influenced me significantly. It was the first fiction piece that expanded my world view. I have read others since, but Les Misrables holds a special place in my heart.

VIVIENNE: The Giver. I read this when I was a teenager, and it changed how I viewed everything. We may all want to live in a perfect world, but at what cost are we willing to make that happen? It was truly life changing for me.

Is there an author who you would love to meet?

SEAN: If it could be any author living or dead, I would choose either Emerson or Twain. They really speak my language and I think they would be a fun bunch to hang out with.

VIVIENNE: I would like to meet Dr. Seuss. I love reading his books to my children and more importantly, I love the lessons taught and his imaginative characters and made-up words.

What is the last book you read? 

SEAN: The last book I read was Confessions by Tolstoy. I like to read philosophical books. I try in some way to incorporate the ideas in my books. I think it gives depth to the writing.

VIVIENNE: The Beyonders by Brandon Mull. My children and I read it together. It was a lot of fun and we look forward to reading the second book when it comes out later this month.

Who would be in your dream cast for The Dawn of Angels?

SEAN: I’m not sure, but Johnny Depp would definitely have to be in there somewhere (major man crush).

VIVIENNE: He is not kidding about the man crush thing. But I have to say that I think Johnny Depp would be great as the shop keeper (wink wink). As for the other characters, I don’t think we have even thought that far. If this book proves to be a hit, we promise to have an answer to this question with the second book’s interview (if you will still have us).

Do you have a song picked out that you feel represents your book?

SEAN: Funny you should say that. When I start writing a book, I often pick out songs specifically to get the right mood for the book. For Dawn of Angels, it was definitely influenced by Florence and the Machine. I must have listened to Cosmic Love and Shake It Out a thousand times while writing the book.

What is your favorite quote?

SEAN: “The great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

VIVIENNE: “A room without books is like a body without a soul.” –Gilbert K. Chesterton

Short answer:

Vanilla or Chocolate

SEAN: Must I choose.

VIVIENNE: Chocolate, of course

favorite color

SEAN: Midnight purple. I always wanted a Plymouth Prowler that was midnight purple.

VIVIENNE: Red. It’s a power thing.

dogs or cats

SEAN: I’m allergic to animals, but I did grow up with cats.

VIVIENNE: I’m allergic to animals too, but I grew up with dogs.

tea or coffee

SEAN: Neither. I hate hot drinks. Give me an ice cold Coke.

VIVIENNE: Hot chocolate

night owl or early bird

SEAN: Night owl all the way. Don’t wake me up before nine.

VIVIENNE: Night owl, but I wish I were a morning person. It would make mornings easier.

Coke or Pepsi

SEAN: Coke!

VIVIENNE: Sprite

Facebook or Twitter

SEAN: I’m somewhat of a cave man when it comes to communication. I prefer face to face interactions. I can’t stand using phones or social networking sites.

VIVIENNE: Facebook

shoes or sandals

SEAN: Sandals. I like my feet to breath.

VIVIENNE: Can I vote for no shoes? Sandals if I have to.

If you would like to connect with the authors you may do so at their website, on Twitter and on Facebook. You can also contact them by email at  viviennemalynnauthor@gmail.com or seankadeauthor@gmail.com . 

I would like to thank Vivienne and Sean for allowing me to review their book and also for doing this great interview. I cannot wait for the release of The Vigilant! Purchase your own copy of The Dawn of Angels by Vivienne Malynn & Sean Kade on Amazon.

I received an e-copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.