Coming on November 30, 2021:
The ebook “box set” which combines Lost Angels and Angelus Rose (and a Dictionary of the Demons, Devils, and Angels who appear in the books) is available now for pre-order on Amazon.
Behind the books:
If you’re curious about the stories behind the Lorelei and Azaziel books, check out As Above, So Below: Behind the Books Lost Angels and Angelus Rose, which you can download for free from Bookfunnel.
As Above, So Below: Behind the Books details the research, location spotting, character development and more that went into this sweeping epic series. Just as the novels combine paranormal romance and horror, these essays explore the number of kisses in the books as well as the author’s inspirations for the exorcism. There’s a “master” interview combining the best questions asked in the course of promoting these books, a dictionary of angels and demons who appear in the books, and in-depth explorations of just where these characters came from.
The teas:
Looking for the perfect accompaniment to drink as you read about Lorelei and Azaziel? I brewed up teas to represent them: a spicy apple chair for Lorelei and a creamy black tea full of flower petals for Azaziel. You can try them out at Adagio Teas.
Get tasting notes and learn more about them here: https://lorenrhoads.com/2021/02/08/the-as-above-so-below-teas/
The soundtrack:
Music was crucial as Brian and I wrote these books. He was living in Los Angeles at the time, while I was in San Francisco. Sharing the soundtrack kept us on the same page. I’ve written about our musical inspirations here, but you can listen for yourself on Spotify.
The books:
“If you enjoy theology and the idea of angels and demons at war among us, you need to check this book out. You won’t be disappointed.” — HorrorAddicts.net
The revised edition of Lost Angels (previously published by Black Bed Sheet Books as As Above, So Below in 2014) came out from Automatism Press in 2016.
In the days before the Flood, Azaziel had been a Watcher, sent down to help God’s creatures on Earth. He fell in love with one of Cain’s granddaughters and he rescued her from the Flood. They passed her mortal life in bliss. Now he’s imprisoned in the Los Angeles basin. His angelic brethren, Heaven’s misfits, don’t understand the longing Aza feels: once he had been loved entirely for himself.
The succubus Lorelei doesn’t know any of this when she sets her sights on Azaziel. All she knows is that the angel’s fall will bring glory to Hell and acclaim to any succubus who accomplishes it.
Of course, it never occurs to Lorelei that Azaziel might try to tame her by possessing her with a mortal girl’s soul. Can the succubus find an exorcist before the fury of Hell is unleashed?
You can read an extensive sample on Amazon.
I read the story that inspired the novel at The Story Hour.
Ordering information:
For the Kindle or in paperback from Amazon.
In paperback from IndieBound or Bookshop.org.
From Barnes & Noble for the Nook or in paperback.
From Smashwords as a mobi, epub, or PDF.
ISBN: 978-0963679420 (paperback) and 978-0963679437
You can get a taste of the As Above, So Below series by watching the book trailer:
“Angelus Rose is a ravishingly dark love story set on the cusp of war. You’ll be on a knife’s edge until the very end.” — Martha J. Allard, author of Speak My Name
If Romeo had wings and Juliet a barbed tail, could they find happiness in the City of Angels?
After their escape from the ashes of Lost Angels, the succubus Lorelei and the angel Azaziel want nothing more than to enjoy each other’s company. Unfortunately, Asmodeus, the Demon Prince of LA, has threatened to devour Lorelei’s new-grown soul if she doesn’t bring about Azaziel’s downfall. Meanwhile, Aza is keeping secrets of his own that threaten the tenuous peace between Heaven and Hell.
Three archangels come to town to try to set things right, but friendships are fracturing. The demon in charge of fallen angels is sniffing around. And Los Angeles is about to be caught between a devil and the deep blue sea.
I Love Books and Stuff put up excerpts of both Lost Angels and Angelus Rose: https://ilovebooksandstuffblog.wordpress.com/2020/03/08/as-above-so-below-book-tour-and-giveaway/
Horror Addicts put a taste of Angelus Rose up for their Free Fiction Friday. It’s one of the angelic fight scenes: https://horroraddicts.wordpress.com/2020/04/02/free-fiction-friday-angelus-rose-by-loren-rhoads-and-brian-thomas/
Ordering information:
For the Kindle or in paperback from Amazon.
In paperback from Indiebound or Bookshop.org.
From Barnes & Noble for the Nook.
From Smashwords as a mobi, epub, or PDF.
ISBN: 978-0963679482 (paperback) and 978-0-9636794-9-9 (ebook)
About the Authors:
Loren Rhoads is the author of the In the Wake of the Templars trilogy, published by Night Shade Books in 2015. She is the editor of Tales for the Camp Fire: A Charity Anthology Benefiting Wildfire Relief and Morbid Curiosity Cures the Blues: True Tales of the Unsavory, Unwise, Unorthodox, and Unusual. Her stories about the succubus Lorelei have appeared in the books Sins of the Sirens, Demon Lovers, and Unsafe Words. Recently her short stories have appeared in The Fabulist, 99 Tiny Terrors, Occult Detective Quarterly, Space & Time, Weirdbook, and Best New Horror #27.
Brian Thomas’s writing has followed the modern course of fanzines, newspaper work, promotional copy, screenwriting and script doctoring, to annuals including Morbid Curiosity magazine. He was a researcher for 20th Century Fox for 10 years on over a hundred films and TV shows, including The X Files, Simpsons, Firefly, and fittingly, Brimstone.
He previously collaborated with Loren Rhoads on 2016’s Lost Angels. Brian resides in Flint, Michigan, in a full-time artists & writers collective, where he hopes to return to writing, seeing as he’s just had an unhappy love affair and doesn’t see why anyone else should have a good time.
Praise for Lost Angels:
“I waited for a decade to read the full story of the succubus Lorelei and the angel Aza after discovering a short story about their too-wrong-to-be-right love/lust in a magazine slush pile. Now, at last, that amazing story serves as simply the jump-off point to unveil a richly imagined supernatural battleground in this frighteningly evocative novel. If you loved the dark fantasy of Christopher Walken’s The Prophecy series, you’ll be entranced by this haunting story of forbidden desire that spans both heaven and hell.” — John Everson, author of Nightwhere, Violet Eyes, and Sirens
“Fans of paranormal romance, urban fantasies, kick-ass fights, and some pretty damn hot sex, check out Lost Angels, the new book by Loren Rhoads and Brian Thomas!” — Dana Fredsti, author of the Plague World series and the Spawn of Lilith series
“Aside from framing the war between Heaven and Hell through well-developed characters and a familiarity with theology, Rhoads and Thomas’s depiction of temptation make this book. In literature, sometimes the mix of horror fiction with romance and erotica leans mainly toward horror, or pulls the primary attention of only one gender of reader (both of these scenarios can be great). However, Lost Angels is not that story. Any fan of erotic horror fiction, male or female, is going to have fun reading this one. Lost Angels has a creative plot, vivid descriptive imagery, relentless temptation, graphic horror, and fiery, fun sex.” — Jeremy Price, Up All Night Horror Fiction Review
“There is a truth which neither heaven nor hell can ignore: souls that are meant to be joined will be, regardless of the cost. Any angel can be tempted, any devil as well. But when that temptation offers something beyond understanding, anything is possible…if they are able to believe in each other.” — Succubus.net
“Lost Angels is an erotic paranormal romance that is story-driven, but has enough erotic, romance, and paranormal elements to satisfy the reader.” — Looking for a Good Book
Praise for Angelus Rose:
“Rhoads and Thomas craft a plausible romance for the angel and succubus without betraying their inherent natures; readers won’t forget that Lorelei is an inherently infernal creature with undeniable carnal needs who serves truly evil masters. Vivid prose (“she felt the portal’s heat crawl over her skin like a thousand cockroaches”) keeps the reader immersed. The authors keep the personal stakes balanced against the larger conflict at hand, which builds slowly to a violent resolution.” — Booklife
“Kick-ass succubus Lorelei shines as she takes on Heaven and Hell for the angel she loves in this gritty, action-packed tale of forbidden desire.” — E. M. Markoff, author of The Deadbringer
“A ravishingly dark love story set on the cusp of war. You’ll be on a knife’s edge until the very end.” — Martha J. Allard, author of Speak My Name
“This is, honestly, like nothing I’ve read. I love the book’s concept.” — Viviana MacKade, author of Guns for Angels
Loren’s favorite posts about the As Above, So Below series:
- Settings from Lost Angels/Angelus Rose Annotated
- How I wrote (and hear me read) The Angel’s Lair, the story that started the series off
- Blood Lust and Fairy Dust put together a really nice post about the succubus books.
- How Collaboration Worked as Brian and I Wrote As Above, So Below
- Jonathan Fortin, author of Lilitu (another fun succubus novel), interviewed me.
- Shonda Brock interviewed me for her Paranoramal Wednesday feature.
- An unpublished Lost Angels interview
- Interviewing Lorelei
- Creating Lorelei’s character on HorrorAddicts.net
- How Lorelei got her Name
- Sex-Positive Succubi
- Roving Gangs of Ferals: How A Clockwork Orange inspired Tuan Nguyen’s gang
- In Defense of Dialog Tags
- How Lorelei’s story spawned Sins of the Sirens
- Comparing the female main characters in The Dangerous Type and Lost Angels
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Thank you Loren and Lorelei, for participating in the “Meet My Character” Blog Tour.