Hi guys,

Just two days to go until Hooked (Paradise Lost1) releases 🙂 🙂 🙂 If you haven’t preordered yet, CLICK HERE to preorder. Also, make sure you’re on my mailing list by clicking here so that you get the release day email.

In my last blog post, I promised to introduce you to some of the characters in the series, so here it is…

Katie Clarke

Katie is our heroine. She’s the daughter of an ex-preacher who fell from grace, and she’s bitterly anti-faith. She’s from a small town but packed up and moved to New York for college, wanting to get away from home and the disgrace that befell her family. College is tough because she’s struggling financially.

Hudson Taylor

A preachers kid from Washington DC who moved to New York to escape something he refuses to tell Katie about. Hudson has lots of secrets, lots of issues, and is a whole lot of drama. When Katie meets him, she’s sucked in by his classic good looks and thinks the fact that they’re both preacher’s kids is some kind of sign that they’re supposed to be together. Hudson’s father is a famous mega pastor, so Hudson will help her to get back onto the straight and narrow, right???

Ella

The devil on Katie’s shoulder. She’s the best friend who is full of bad advice and new creative ways to get Katie to screw up her life. But her heart is in the right place.

Ro (short for Rochelle)

The angel on Katie’s shoulder. She’s Katie’s roommate and is a Christian. She has lots of good advice for Katie, although Katie never wants to hear it.

There are some other characters who become more important as the series progresses, but for now, those are the main people.

Here’s the back cover blurb:

Two messed up preacher’s kids. One reckless decision. Zero chance of survival.

Katie Clarke has been disillusioned with God and religion for years—ever since her father, a small-town preacher, fell from grace. But meeting Hudson, the son of a famous mega preacher, makes her wonder whether Hudson will be the tool God uses to restore her faith. However, she soon discovers that he is even more messed up than she is.

A decision Katie should never have made lands her in a shocking situation with Hudson that gives her some insight into just how damaged he is. She can see the pain, but she doesn’t know what has caused it. More importantly, she doesn’t know whether, by sticking around, they will help to heal each other or just feed off each other’s pain.

Hudson is a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Adonis but there is darkness beneath his beauty.

And his warning to her ‘get away from me before I taint you’ rings loudly in her ears.

Is she already too intrigued to save herself from him?

A story of brokenness, healing, and God’s mercy.

***

I’m so excited about this series for two reasons.

1. God’s goodness shown through imperfect characters

Katie and Hudson are as far away from perfect as two people can possibly be. Things get really intense and heartbreaking near the end of the series. We live in a broken world but I don’t want to just write about brokenness. I want to show that there’s a remedy too. And I want to send the message that the more broken you are, the more cracks there are for God’s glory to shine through. In Mark 2:17 (NLT), Jesus says, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor–sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” We all need to ponder that for a moment…

2. I’ve always wanted to write a serial

Serial fiction is basically a drama unfolding in smaller bite-sized chunks rather than long sprawling novels. After writing over thirty novels I felt like it’s time to face a new challenge. Shorter fiction is harder to write because you have less time to capture the reader. The pacing also has to be much faster. I’ve learned a lot from writing Paradise Lost. Yes, the whole serial is written 🙂 Each installment just needs thorough editing now.

3. It’s written in first person present tense

I have never written in first person present tense. I’ve written in first person past tense (Prodigal, Beauty for Ashes series, Drew Ashley series). Then I switched to writing in third person past tense. The first time I wrote in third person past tense was when I wrote Lust (Pure Passion 1). I was really worried because it was new to me, and I was also going to write scenes from the male protagonists point of view for the first time. Every book I’ve written since then I’ve written in the same tense and POV, and I’ve gotten pretty used to writing from male characters’ points of view.

I figured I need a new challenge and this is it. Lots of contemporary young adult and new adult books are written in first person present tense and I’ve never really liked it. It’s not my preferred way to write, but I wanted to try it. As I wrote Hooked I kept automatically switching to past tense or third person, and the first draft was a total mess. But by book three, I was used to it. I sound like a total geek, going on about this stuff. Thanks for indulging me 🙂

KDP Select

I’m trying out Amazon’s KDP select service with this serial, which means I have to make the books exclusive to Amazon for at least three months. I tried KDP Select years ago when I started out and didn’t think it was great, but apparently things have changed and I’m hearing good things about it from other authors, so I’ve decided to try it again. The good news is, if you’re in Kindle Unlimited you’ll be able to read Hooked and the rest of Paradise Lost free as part of your subscription. I apologize to those of my readers who purchase my books on other platforms. Please email me (dayo@dayobenson.com) if you’re unable to get books from Amazon.

So that’s it from me. I’ll be in touch again on release day 🙂

Have a fabulous weekend <3