1.
Tell us about your newest
release.
Vanity in Dust is a dark
fantasy about a city ruled by vicious hierarchy and swelling with secrets and plots.
From the carnivorous pixies in the shadows to
the wolves in the streets, Vaun thought he knew all the dangers of his city.
But when whispers of treason bring down the fury of the Queen, he'll have to
race to save the lives and souls of those he loves.
2.
What was one of the most
surprising things you learned in creating your story?
You can’t answer too many
questions about your world. Yeah, there might be a lot of stuff you never use
in the story, but it doesn’t hurt to know it.
3.
Do you have any interesting
or quirks or rituals?
I had to do a mental run
down of my behavior to answer this! I do have a “business tie” that I put on
when I’m having trouble focusing in order to “get down to business”. It works,
I swear.
4.
What authors or friends influenced
you in helping you become a writer?
I’ve been fortunate to have
a lot of supportive friends and family. No one’s ever told me to get a real
career or stop writing make believe. My husband has, of course, been one of the
greatest influences on my writing and always encouraged me. And Linn, the
artist that did my cover, is actually one of my beta readers. She reads
everything I write and gives me some brutally honest feedback that I couldn’t
do without.
5.
What does your family think
about your career as a published author?
My family is incredibly happy for me! Most of them haven’t read the book
yet, we’ll see what happens when they get to the sex or violence but I have no
doubt they’ll still be happy for me. Being a published author has always been
my dream and they’ve always supported it.
6.
Besides writing, what other
interests do you have?
Reading, of course. I also watch a lot of
movies and shows. I love going to the theater or out to cafes and restaurants.
7.
Can you tell us what is
coming up next for you?
I’ve sent the second book
of the Crowns and Ash series, Detox in Letters, in to my editor. Fingers
crossed that she doesn’t throw it back at me and demand a rewrite! I’m also
reading through book three at the moment.
8.
How can readers connect
with you online?

Check out my webpage, CherylLow.com, or find
me on Twitter and Instagram under @cherylwlow.
CHERYL LOW might be an Evil Queen, sipping tea and
peeping on everyone from high up in her posh tower—a job she got only after
being fired from her gig as Wicked Witch for eating half the gingerbread house.
…Or she might be a relatively mundane human
with a love for all things sugary and soap opera slaps.
Find out by following her on social media
@cherylwlow or check her webpage, cheryllow.com. The answer might surprise you!
But it probably won’t.
Social Media Links: Twitter&
Instagram: @cherylwlow Website: cheryllow.com
In the Realm there are whispers. Whispers that the city used to be a different place. That before the Queen ruled there was a sky beyond the clouds and a world beyond their streets.
Vaun Dray Fen never knew that world. Born a prince without a purpose in a Realm ruled by lavish indulgence, unrelenting greed, and vicious hierarchy, he never knew a time before the Queen’s dust drugged the city. From the tea to the pastries, everything is poisoned to distract and dull the senses. And yet, after more than a century, his own magic is beginning to wake. The beautiful veneer of the Realm is cracking. Those who would defy the Queen turn their eyes to Vaun, and the dust saturating the Realm.
From the carnivorous pixies in the shadows to the wolves in the streets, Vaun thought he knew all the dangers of his city. But when whispers of treason bring down the fury of the Queen, he'll have to race to save the lives and souls of those he loves.
“A deliciously decadent debut that will make you reconsider the world within which we live – because how different are we than Low’s drugged-up citizens of the upper crust?” -- Sara Dobie Bauer, author of the Bite Somebody seriesGrab your copy now World Weaver Press Amazon Barnes & Noble iTunes Kobo Goodreads
Excerpt:
“Vaun took another deep drag off the
cigarette one of his new friends, Gabby, had offered him. She and the man
sitting beside her pretended quite comically to be from the High. The prince
did not ruin the show by telling them that he knew everyone in the High, to
some degree. The quality of their vanity charms indicated they were not, not to
mention the state of their clothing. Being rude was only fashionable if one’s
victim was up to the challenge and could strike back. Besides, Vaun never
discouraged people who tried so hard to amuse him.
The prince exhaled black smoke. It was
thick and dramatic, but his skin didn’t hum the way it usually did after a deep
breath of dust. In fact, the tingle was more of an agitation, making him shift
in his seat and flick his cigarette more angrily than usual. Ash fluttered
through the air. How much tea did he have to drink for a decent buzz? He all
but dropped his cup back on its chipped saucer in disgust. “I shouldn’t have
come,” he muttered.
“You’re leaving?” Gabby’s smile faltered.
Her fingers clenched around her teacup. She wore fingerless, black lace gloves
like his sister did on occasion and Vaun noticed that her skirts and bodice
were also in dark colors with hints of lace sewn in wherever possible, some
obviously added as an afterthought and not even matching the lace elsewhere. It
would have been easier to try to imitate the High fashion of Belholn but Gabby
had aimed even higher, for the princess herself.
“Yes. I’m sure I have a date somewhere.”
Some part of him enjoyed the distress of the people around him at the
possibility of his departure. It made him want to leave even more.
“Wait!” Gabby grabbed at the man beside
her, whose name Vaun had forgotten a while ago, and tugged at the sleeve of his
obviously repaired jacket. “Show him,” she whispered urgently.
Vaun took another draw of his disappointing
cigarette. The best part about going to a teahouse or club in the thick of the
Main was how the people tried so desperately to impress him. The people in the
High knew him too well to try so hard. They feared his mockery even more than
they desired his attention. But this group had spent the better part of the
last hour trying to wow him with their trinkets and knowledge of the High. It
was all nonsense read from the paper and mostly outdated. “I truly doubt you
have anything to show me that I have not seen.”
The man reached into his jacket a little
uncomfortably and took out a small mason jar. Others giggled, recognizing it,
but Vaun only blinked at first. Its glass belly was full but not with anything
liquid or solid. Light, captured and pulsing, swirled inside the jar. Vaun felt
it as much as he saw it. He heard it like a whisper against his senses and
found himself leaning forward to see it more clearly: a soul. Vaun had seen
them before, but they weren’t common. So uncommon, in fact, that he was
surprised they hadn’t led with this in their attempt to impress him. He
supposed they might have been afraid he’d take it. Soul capturing was an old
craft that most considered barbaric now.
His gaze turned up from the jar to the man
holding it. “Who is it?” The soul was a beautiful captive, but the person
walking around without it was the real prize—the puppet, someone that could be
made to do anything.
“I couldn’t say.” The man smiled. “He
wouldn’t be much of a spy if I did.”
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