An Angel's Blade - indeed

One of the first "paranormal" romances I read was the book Metal Angel by Nancy Springer. Somehow, having just discovered fantasy and science fiction, I found this book at the bookstore. Maybe it was the handsome, dark-haired angel on the cover, or the commentary it made on God and religion, or maybe it was just damn good writing. Either way, this book stuck with me.

An image of an angel, handsome as sin, spreading his wings, and proclaiming to all his heritage struck me as a very sexy image. I have a couple of pictures picked up at a science fiction convention of angels as viewed from the back, these 3/4 profile handsome faces and muscled flesh with wings rising from the shoulder blades. They hang in the bedroom, amid our astronomical art and other pictures picked up at various conventions.

So when it came time for me to plot my NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) story, which became An Angel's Blade, releasing this month from Loose Id, I knew that if I had zombies, then I should have angels too. And he had to be handsome, a good fighter, and maybe a little of the tortured hero.

Left by his father, told all his life he wasn't good enough because he didn't have wings, Dashtu became something of a one-man crusader against the Necromancers who took over most of civilization with their zombies. And although he is an angel, I don't think religion really plays a role in his character or the story. It is a classic good against evil, but considering that the Necromancers turn people into zombies, well, that's pretty darn evil.

I hope you like my angel. I know I really liked writing him. And, he has a few friends, so who knows what the future will bring.