Disturbed Fate by Kia Zi Shiru



Title: Disturbed Fate
Author : Kia Zi Shiru
Genre: Urban Fantasy, gay, New Adult
Format: (print, ebook, or both) Print and ebook
Links to buy:
Kobo


Tell us the story behind the story. What inspired you to write this novel?
I’ve been a fan of vampire stories for a long time, to me vampires haven’t been scary though they can be rough. I had been thinking for a while to write about real life vampires, or sanguine vampires. It was a community that I had a lot of interest in. I started a couple of different stories but just couldn’t get it right just yet. Then I combined the vampire story with a magical story I had the outline for and this created Disturbed Fate.  A story which uses a lot of ideas from real life vampires but just taken slightly to the magical. It has two types of vampires, sanguine (blood) and psychic (energy), and I’ve tried to show the difference between the two within the story.
Add to that a guy who can see the future and a guy who has lost his boyfriend because of drowning, an Oracle, magical circles, cats and a werewolf housemate and you’ve got the perfect recipe for weird scenes and interesting plot twists.

Tell us about the book cover. How does it represent your book? How did you choose the artwork?
I tried to find a good Japanese model first, but it’s really hard to find those on stock websites. Together with Eric Hubbel, my cover artist, we first created some ideas with a Japanese model but one evening I decided that it wasn’t exactly what I wanted. I liked having a non-caucasian model on the cover, but I felt it wasn’t going to look as good as I wanted to. So I looked around, trying to find models that could either be my main character, Marc, or Devlan. I found three guys and we decided on this one. He looked the best for what we were planning for the rest of the cover. This is by the way my idea of what Devlan would look like. I imagine Marc a bit broader and with darker hair.
Eric then went back to work and finalised the colours and the positioning of the text. It was so easy to work with him!

Synopsis:  
Marc, a small pet shop owner and seer, needs help with his store, but his new employee, Galen, brings with him more trouble than expected. Marc tries to keep their relationship professional even if Galen seems insistent on taking it to the next level. And then there is the problem of Galen’s past.
Keiran, a hard working medical student and Marc’s best friend, has a small problem, a stalker. One night he confronts the guy and finds in his stalker vampire, Devlan, is too alluring to turn down. But Devlan isn’t who he seems to be.
When the four men meet up for a night out their lives fall apart. Marc’s premonitions are wrong and everything points towards one autumn night a couple of years ago. Now they need to figure out what happened that night, before someone dies, again.

Time is running out. The visions might be false, but they don’t paint a pretty picture, not about their futures and, especially, not about their pasts. They need to reverse the change before it is too late.

Excerpt
Chapter 1

Marc tried to stay on his feet as he slid from the post office towards his shop. The city had been caught off-guard by the snowstorm the night before and the cleaning crew hadn’t gotten to this side of town yet. It was uncommon to have this much snow in late November—it promised nothing good for the rest of the winter.
Next to him, his cat, Isis, didn’t seem to have any problem with the cold or the ice. Which wasn’t surprising. It had been on a day like this that he had found the silly cat to begin with.
Isis lightly jumped onto a pile of snow that was in the way, barely making a dent in the surface. But as Marc tried to step on the same pile his foot went into it up to his knee. He growled. That was going to get cold before he reached the shop he owned. Great.
As he stood still to sweep the snow from his jeans Isis walked further ahead and stopped at the corner of the street.
A few meters away a young Japanese man knelt near some trashcans. He seemed to be talking to something but Marc couldn’t see what it was. Though Isis seemed to be really interested in what was going on. Which left very few options, and whatever it was, it wasn’t food.
The young man stepped away and, indeed, a small white kitten tried to follow him. The young man knelt down and shook his head, talking to the little animal.
Isis stepped forward and the kitten looked their way. It tilted its head and mewled. The young man looked up and tried to flee as he saw Marc.
Marc frowned. He knew this guy. He wasn’t sure where from but he was quite sure that he had seen him before.
Marc held up his hands and tried to smile. “I’m not gonna hurt you. I was just curious what was going on.”
“This kitten came from behind those trashcans and it keeps trying to follow me.”
Marc stepped forward and saw the little nest where the kitten had apparently hidden.
“I seriously didn’t try to dump it. It was already here and I can’t take it home. I didn’t know what else to do.” The young man looked as Isis came close to the kitten and then wound her body around it, keeping it warm. “Your cat seems to like it. Can’t you take it?”
Marc looked down at the two cats and his suspicion was confirmed when the kitten glanced up. First to the young man, then him and then the young man again. This was not a normal kitten. This kitten had chosen the man to be its owner. Marc shook his head. “It doesn’t work like that, sadly enough. I’m gonna take a wild guess and assume you dabble in magic?”
The young man’s eyes went wide.
“I thought so. Well, congratulations. This is your familiar, or as some call it, your guardian. Once you’re chosen you can’t really get out of it.”
“But… it can’t be. I can barely care for myself. How am I supposed to take care of someone else? I don’t have the money.”
But Marc saw the way he was eyeing the kitten. The connection between them had already established itself and trying to break it now would be useless. A thought occurred to him.
“I’ve got a pet store not too far away. I could use some help.”
“Why would you offer that to a stranger? You don’t even know me.” The young man knelt down and petted both Isis and the kitten, hiding his face from Marc, but he could hear the relief in his voice.
“I need help at the store, you need money. Sounds fair, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, but…” The young man looked up. The feeling of familiarity struck Marc again, but he couldn’t place his face.
“I’m Marc, what’s your name?” Marc held out his hand.
“Galen. My name is Galen.” Galen took his hand and shook it strongly.
“Well, let’s get out of this cold. I’ll show you the shop then.” Marc smiled and Galen smiled back. This could get interesting.

Marc pulled the key from his pocket and opened the door to the shop. He stepped inside and reached out to flick on the light. Fluorescent lamps blinked on and covered the shelves in harsh light. He walked through shoulder high rows of shelves with pet food and toys before he reached the counter. The shop wouldn’t be open for another hour or two, that should be enough time to get Galen set up with food and other things.
Isis played around his feet, begging for his attention. He picked her up and dried her wet feet with the warm towel he kept on the radiator next to the counter. He then wrapped her into the warm towel and held her close, just how she liked it.
He turned around and faced the young man. “How is the little one doing? Is she okay?”
Galen nodded.
“Well, this is my shop. It’s been getting busier the last couple of months. I make enough to live on and some spare which allows me to take on someone else to help out.” Marc handed Galen a towel too, so he could wrap it around the kitten.
“So, why suddenly get someone? You seem to have done fine up until now.” Galen smiled, holding the warming kitten close to his body.
“Because it’s too busy for just one person. I have a friend who usually helps me out a couple of hours a week, but he is in his last year of university so he doesn’t have a lot of time. I need someone who can do more than just a few hours.” Marc sat Isis on the counter in her basket, where she kept on purring in contentment. “So, we have a deal then?”
Galen nodded. “Sure, I can work here a bunch of hours a day. I’ll need the money now, won’t I?” Galen looked down at the kitten and smiled. The kitten looked up and meowed softly.
“Well, you go and get some essentials. I’ll grab some food for her from the back.”
“How do I… I don’t want to be in debt to you. I really don’t have the money now.” Galen stepped towards Marc. “How do I pay for all of it?”
“We’ll figure something out. Don’t worry about it. Now, you go get some stuff. I need to open the shop in about an hour, so we’ve got till then to get everything to your place and sign contracts and things.”
“Thank you.” Galen gave him a blinding smile as he walked around.
Marc couldn’t get rid of the feeling that he knew Galen, that he really had seen him before this morning. But where? Marc looked at Isis and agreed with her. There were more important things at stake than the fact that he might know someone. How had a guardian as young as this kitten left the nest? Guardians weren’t supposed to leave the group until they were adults. Why had it been forced to leave this young?

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About The Author

Katie Salidas is a USA Today bestselling author and RONE award winner known for her unique genre-blending style.

Since 2010 she's penned five bestselling book series: the Immortalis, Olde Town Pack, Little Werewolf, Chronicles of the Uprising, and the all-new Agents of A.S.S.E.T. series. As her not-so-secret alter ego, Rozlyn Sparks, she is a USA Today bestselling author of romance with a naughty side.

In her spare time Katie also produces and hosts a YouTube talk show; Spilling Ink. She also has a regular column on First Comics News where she explores writing from a nerdy perspective.