Saturday, July 20, 2013

King of Bad by Kai Strand




Today I have Kai Strand talking about her new book King of Bad and her favorite scenes. Take it away, Kai!


Jeff Mean would rather set fires than follow rules or observe curfew. He wears his bad boy image like a favorite old hoodie; that is until he learns he has superpowers and is recruited by Super Villain Academy – where you learn to be good at being bad. In a school where one kid can evaporate all the water from your body and the girl you hang around with can perform psychic sex in your head, bad takes on a whole new meaning. Jeff wonders if he’s bad enough for SVA.

He may never find out. Classmates vilify him when he develops good manners. Then he’s kidnapped by those closest to him and left to wonder who is good and who is bad. His rescue is the climactic episode that balances good and evil in the super world. The catalyst – the girl he’s crushing on. A girlfriend and balancing the Supers is good, right? Or is it…bad?


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You know the science room scene? Where Edward and Bella meet and Edward is all stand-offish because Bella’s blood smells so good, but Bella doesn’t know it and thinks he’s just being a jerk? Yeah, I love that scene.

No matter how many books are in a series there is always only one scene where the main character meets their love interest (unless the m.c. gets around, of course – but that’s a different kind of story). Often that initial discovery scene becomes one of my favorites. In my new novel, King of Bad, the first time Jeff sees Oceanus, he’s so overcome by what he is learning, she doesn’t make any sort of impression. The second time he sees her she douses him with water and cops an attitude. So in this case it is crush at second sight.

By the way, “S.V.” stands for super villain.

(excerpt from King of Bad)

“Source, who is she?”
Source followed Jeff’s line of vision. “Oh, that’s Oceanus. Don’t even think it, kid. She’s already found a match.”
“What do you mean?”
“See the guy next to her?”
“The skinny red head?” Jeff hoped.
“No, the other one.”
“Oh, the Adonis?” Jeff’s heart fell. He’d no hope to thwart the god-like S.V. seated next to Oceanus.
“Not far off. People call him Set. The God of chaos, storm, wind. He’s a great guy.” Sarcasm wrapped around Source’s words. “Descended from a long line of S.V.’s Known he’s an S.V. his whole life so came to the school ready to rule from what I hear. Real nasty character, even for an S.V. You don’t want to piss him off.”
“Oh, I won’t piss him off. I don’t go looking for trouble.” Jeff considered his life before the academy and realized that looking for trouble was the only thing he used to do. He amended his statement, saying, “Much.”

What type of scene tends to be your favorite in a book?

33 comments:

  1. Interesting! I wish the characters were just a tad bit older. :D

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  2. Wow! Great cover and the plot sounds amazing!

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  3. Kelly, thanks for spotlighting King of Bad and letting me share it with your readers. You've got such kick-butt readers - as evidenced by Diane and Ann! I love visiting your blog.

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  4. Congrats to Kai. This sounds like a great read.

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  5. I love this story. And wait until you see the second book in the series. I've read part of it. You'll want to also. :)

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    1. Thanks so much, Beverly. Book 2 was just as fun to write. I love my supers!

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  6. Certainly a different take on things! Congratulations to you, Kai!

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  7. I don't usually like "bad boys," but it seems thisbook is an entirely new take and sounds more like a redemption story. Great idea! Congrats to Kai! :-)

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    1. I agree, Lexa. Sounds like Kai has a great spin here.

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    2. Poor Jeff gets a bit confused about who is good, who is bad - including himself!

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  8. Can't wait to read it, Kai!!

    My favorite scene in a book is usually the "first kiss" scene. :)

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    1. Yes, that is a good choice. Though I love all the suspense leading up to it, too.

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    2. Me too!! The suspense, the wanting, and finally the culmination. Brilliant! :)

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  9. Nice to see Kai here.

    Ooo, you reached 1k. Now I'm 1001! I didn't know I wasn't following you.

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    1. Thanks for following, Theresa! I just planned my 1000 follower giveaway for next week. :)

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  10. KofB sounds like a fun read. I like it where's he's hoping his crush's beau is the 'skinny redhead'. That would be my husband, lol!

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  11. Cool excerpt! My favorite scenes are reversals -- the author has you thinking the story's going to favor one character, but then something backfires, and he/she has to regroup and press on.

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    1. That is fun, Milo. There are a couple plot twists or surprises in King of Bad, too. Can't be too predictable, can we? Thanks for reading!

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  12. Congrats to Kai! This sounds an intriguing read!

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