I’ve always loved fantasy and fairy tales. As I got older, I also developed an interest in mystery and darker, grittier stories. Urban fantasy is a good mix of both. Setting the Saoirse Reilly series in an urban fantasy world gave me the opportunity to do some genre-bending and subvert readers’ expectations. I won’t give too much detail about that to avoid spoilers!
I began writing Dead Blood City, the first book in the Saoirse Reilly series, while working in a psychiatric hospital at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and following the death of a thirteen-year-old patient by suicide. The magic and monsters in Reilly’s world are metaphors for the very real evil and darkness that exists in our world. The painful experiences of my characters are things that real people go through every day. Unfortunately, treatment is not always enough to help them escape the darkness inside their own minds.
I always knew Dead Blood City would have a sequel. In Hush Hush City, I wanted to address some of the questions readers had about Reilly’s heritage and her burgeoning powers. Other inspirations included Norse myths of the undead, the overlap of Viking and Irish culture, and the long, troubled history between Ukraine and Russia. But my overarching inspiration for the book was imagining someone presented with a series of distinct choices and choosing wrong every single time. Where would they end up?
Writing Hush Hush City allowed me to continue a journey of healing and self-forgiveness that I started in my first novel. Reilly is on a treacherous and painful path but we are all walking it together. When I was working on DBC at work, in waiting rooms, at airports, and on my couch, I often wondered if there was any reason for it. And, sometimes, I felt very alone in a very dark place. Now the sun is shining through my windows, I have hundreds of readers, and I’m publishing the sequel. I hope that you, too, will read and grow.
If you haven’t read Dead Blood City yet, email subscribers to my website www.JoDenning.com can grab a free e-copy. Hush Hush City is available on Amazon for Kindle or paperback. I love hearing from readers so feel free to reach out! In the meantime, I’m hard at work on the third installment, Black Sight City, so named because it will be the darkest yet. This will be a major turning point for the series. For those wanting (demanding) more about Reilly’s heritage and the mysterious world we’ve only seen in flashbacks, this is the book for you! But be careful what you wish for. It is always darkest before dawn.
Title: Hush Hush City
Author: Jo Denning
Publisher: Leabhar & Fola Publishing House
Pages: 330
Genre: Dark Urban Fantasy Romance
Cruel Prince meets Law & Order in Hush Hush City, the thrilling sequel to Dead Blood City and second installment in the Saoirse Reilly series! Saoirse Reilly, police detective and wayward psychic, is still reeling from the events of Dead Blood City. Her lies are piling up but there’s no time to deal. She and her loved ones are in danger once again. While investigating the murder of a Boston blueblood, Reilly is drawn into a supernatural power struggle centuries in the making.
Ancient monsters are prowling the streets and Domenico Alderisi, newly installed vrykolakas master, needs Reilly’s help securing his territory – which just so happens to be her hometown. Alderisi, once her enemy, may be the only one who can save the city. But he has his own agenda and a taste for Reilly’s blood. The only way for Reilly to protect all she holds dear may be to rely on her two-faced teacher, Dr. Emrys Somerled. The criminal psychologist and occult expert is something more than human. If anyone can take on monsters, it’s him. And he’d like to get closer to Reilly than ever before. There’s just one problem. Somerled is keeping secrets, too, and there’s nothing more dangerous. After all…
Stepping out of the silence is scary but secrets can kill.
Will Reilly escape the web of death and deception?
Find out in this urban fantasy meets gritty noir detective novel featuring imperfect heroes and slow burn dark romance with beautiful monsters who can’t be trusted.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/41Z1UUq
Jo Denning is the author of the Saoirse
Reilly series. She has spent her career as a behavioral health therapist
supporting kids and teens who struggle with addiction. Jo began writing
supernatural crime thrillers as a way of processing the traumatic
things she has seen and heard. Her characters may be supernatural but
their stories, their fear, and their pain are real. So, too, are the
triumphs over impossible odds.
When she’s not writing, Jo enjoys baking, drawing, and watching trashy reality TV. She makes her home somewhere in the contiguous United States with her husband, one fluffy cat, and one barely domesticated cat.
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