Thrilled to have urban fantasy author and fellow #Authors18 member, B.P. Donigan on the blog today to talk about her debut, Fate Forged!

Author Name: B.P. Donigan

Book Title: Fate Forged (Bound Magic Series: Book 1)

Book Genre: Urban Fantasy

Release Date: December 18, 2018

Publisher: Red Adept Publishing

Huge congrats on the release of your debut! How would you describe Fate Forged?

Former street-rat Maeve O’Neill is on the verge of pulling together a respectable life until she starts having agonizing flashes of being tortured. She follows the visions to the scene of a murder where she gets an unexpected parting gift from the victim–magic. As if that isn’t life-altering enough, Maeve becomes the access point to all of Earth’s untapped magic power. 

Now, powerful enemies are after her and staying alive means striking a bargain with an unlikely ally. Maeve has to keep the powers in check until she can get rid of them, but her control is slipping and powerful enemies are chasing them. If the long shot-plan fails, or her enemies catch up, she’ll be handing over all of Earth’s magic… and her life.

What sparked the idea for Fate Forged?

For me, a good story idea starts with an interesting ‘what if?’ question. For Fate Forged, it looked something like: What if a woman inherited crazy magic powers, but had no idea how to control them?  From there, I let the questions lead me into a story – Who is she? Why doesn’t she know how to control the magic powers? Where do the powers come from? What if she doesn’t remember something critical about herself… 

How long did it take for you to write the book? Did you have to do any research? 

I first sat down to write a novel four years before Fate Forged was published. The first year was all about learning how to write a novel. I’ve always been an avid reader, and I knew what I liked, but I had no idea how to plan, plot or pace a novel. An entire second year was spent editing my work in progress and then getting beta readers and critique partners. I researched everything! For the story itself, I had to map out the character’s road trip, and Google search weapons, how to realistically kill someone in hand-to-hand combat, and watch lots of videos online just to make a coherent fight scene. For a while there, I was pretty sure my internet searches were going to flag an FBI raid on my house.

Ha! Authors might want to regularly delete their search history… Did anything from your real life influence your book at all?

Definitely! I grew up in Alaska, which is where my characters go to search for a Fate who can remove the uncontrollable magic powers from my main character. They hike over a glacier and to the top of a mountain in a re-creation of a three-day hike I did when I was a teenager. (I wasn’t chased by demon dogs at the time, but otherwise it’s the same hike.) The locations, and even the hiker’s huts where they stop over, are all real places. Also, the book starts out in Boston where I lived for a decade after college, and I mention Davis Square and a fortune cookie factory, which are real places that are near and dear to my heart. I had a lot of fun putting my favorite places into my story.

If you were speaking to someone who hasn’t read your writing before, why should they want to read Fate Forged?

Great question! The book can best be described as Epic Urban Fantasy. Fate Forged is a fast-paced thriller wrapped in magic. If you enjoy strong female protagonists who aren’t invincible, and a healthy splash of realistic romance, then you’d probably like Fate Forged.  

What are your interests outside of writing and reading? 

Outside of writing, I have a full-time job, two kids, two dogs and a husband. All that keeps me busy! When I have spare time, I love to dabble in home-improvement projects and arts and crafts. I love trying new things, but I have a hard time finishing up the projects I start.  

Did anything change significantly in your book during the writing or editing process? 

Yes! Many of the character’s names changed, and the title of Fate Forged used to be The Lost Sect, which I liked, but the publisher didn’t think had enough depth. After some soul searching, I decided “Fate” was a thread that will reach across the entire series, and then I attempted to find a title with the word Fate that didn’t sound like a romance novel! To make it all cohesive, I ended up coming up with titles for the first three books (as well as the Series Title) so the extra effort was worth it. 

Where can readers find you (website, blog, social media, etc.)?

Facebook (@BPDonigan)

Instagram (bpdonigan_author)

Twitter (@BPDonigan)

Join B.P. Donigan’s Urban Fantasy Newsletter

Thank you, B.P.! Fate Forged is available as of TODAY!

Fate Forged

Maeve O’Neill grew a hard shell while growing up on the streets of Boston. Just as she’s on the cusp of getting her life on a better track, she starts having agonizing visions of torture. Desperate to rid her mind of the awful scenes, she follows her visions to the scene of a murder. Instead of answers, she gets an unexpected gift from the victim: Magic.

Maeve’s newfound abilities soon make her the target of two powerful and dangerous groups, the Council and the Brotherhood, both of which will stop at nothing to gain the magic locked inside her. In an attempt to stay alive, Maeve strikes a deal with the Council’s disillusioned enforcer, Silas Valeron. His motives are suspect, and his arrogance is frustrating, but his plan might work.

With more visions sending Maeve deep into a world of magic with enemies all around her, she must learn to control her powers long enough to get rid of them. If she can’t, all of Earth’s magic could fall into the wrong hands.

Author bio:

B.P. Donigan was born and raised in Wasilla, Alaska (which would later become famous thanks to one infamous politician who could see Russian from her house, but at the time was about as rural as you can get).

She attended college in rural Idaho, and then not-so-rural Utah, and finally moved to very-not-rural Boston where she lived for ten years. After paying her dues to the Extreme Winters, she resides now in sunny California, with her two kids, two fish, and two dogs… and one amazing husband.

Like any good superhero she spends her daytime building her cover story behind a desk, and her nights saving the world (on paper, at least).