To kill, or not to kill, that is the question! Guest post by Katie Salidas

At the end of Pandora’s Box (Book three in the Immortalis series) I left readers with a question, “Is Lysander truly dead, or can he be saved?” 

No, I’m not going to reveal his fate now, you’ll just have to read Soulstone to find out. 

I know, I’m such a meanie.

But, it brings up a great topic. Killing off characters.

As an author, my characters are somewhat like my children. Each one has a backstory, a current story, and a potential future. I’ve taken a lot of time developing them. I’ve created them from scratch and watched them virtually grow. So, with that in mind you’d think it would be abhorrent to me to end their fictional existence. I mean, what mother would ever want to harm their child, right? 

In some cases, yes. There are some characters that would break my heart to destroy. On the other hand, there are some characters who need to die. Boy do I sound mean now. Stick with me though and you’ll see what I mean.

Some characters have to die. It’s the circle of life. (insert the Elton John song from the Lion King). Every fictional character has a lifespan. They have a purpose in a story and sometimes their death serves that purpose. 

In Pandora’s Box, for example, I had to kill off a character I loved. I felt very sad when the moment came to end her existence, and I am not afraid to admit that I shed a tear for the loss of her fictional life. She was one of my favorite secondary characters. 

Hers was a necessary death. It created a chain reaction of events. Without her death, her mate would not have developed the reckless attitude that allowed him to challenge the werewolf pack leader and earn his respect. Without that earned respect, the wolf pack would never have helped the vampire clan with the Pandora’s Box. This is of course a simple explanation of the events in Pandora’s Box, but you see just like with real life, every action has a reaction and all things are connected. It’s the butterfly effect. You know, that theory that if a butterfly flaps his wings somewhere in the world, it causes a ripple effect that eventually links to a hurricane on the other side of the world. I believe it is also known as chaos theory. But, I’m getting off track. The point is, sad as it can be, some character deaths have to happen.

So, some deaths are necessary. But, there are also “fun” deaths. Now I sound like a psycho. LoL. And to that I’ll say, all writers are a little bit crazy. Sometimes it’s therapeutic and even fun to kill off a character, especially an evil one that “has it coming.” There is a certain satisfaction for me as a writer when I kill off a bad guy, and I’ll bet other authors out there can attest to this too. I know many of my readers are expecting some baddies to die in my new Chronicles series. And yes, I will tell you this, Revolution will have lots of karmic retribution. Muahahahaha!

The “bad guy” deaths. Those are the deaths you expect to see in a book. The bad guy should have an untimely end. And there is an unwritten rule that says the death of the bad guy needs to match up with the level of evil that “bad guy” has committed. That’s what makes the death really satisfying. You want them to pay for their crimes. And making them pay is fun. It’s vindication for not only the author but the reader too. As much as I have fun killing off bad guys in the most deserving way possible, readers too tell me they love it when the bad guy “gets it!” 

So, writing character deaths is a natural part of the fictional circle of life, and sometimes a really fun part of being an author. 

And yes, if you read to the end of Soulstone you’ll find out Lysander’s fate. Until then, you’ll just have to wonder…

About Katie...

Katie Salidas, author of the Immortalis series (Urban Fantasy), Consummate Therapy series (Erotica), and the recently released Chronicles of the Uprising (Dystopian) is a Jill of all Trades. She’s a Super Woman endowed with special powers and abilities, beyond those of other mortals. Katie can get the munchkins off to gymnastics, cheerleading, Girl Scouts, and swim lessons; put hot food on the table, assist with homework, baths, and bedtime… And, she still finds the time to keep the hubby happy (nudge nudge wink wink). She can do all of this and still have time to write. 

And if you can believe all of those lies, there is some beautiful swamp land in Florida for sale…

Katie Salidas resides in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mother to three, Wife to one, and slave to the craft of writing, she does try to do it all, often causing sleep deprivation and many nights passed out at the computer. Writing is her passion, and she hopes that her passion will bring you hours of entertainment.

Blog: http://www.katiesalidas.com/

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Books in the Immortalis Series:

Becoming a vampire is easy. Living with the condition... that's the hard part. Join Alyssa as she stumbles through the world of the "Unnatural."

Book 1: Immortalis Carpe Noctem - Newbie vampire Alyssa never asked for this life, but now it's all she has. Rescued from death by Lysander, the aloof and sexy leader of the Peregrinus vampire clan, she's barely cut her teeth before she becomes a target. Kallisto, an ancient and vindictive vampire queen - and Lysander's old mate - wants nothing less than final death for her former lover and his new toy. She's not above letting the Acta Sanctorum, and its greatest vampire hunter, Santino, know exactly where the clan can be found.With no time to mourn her old life, Alyssa's survival depends on her new family. She will have to stand alongside Lysander and fight against two enemies who will stop at nothing to destroy them.

Book 2: Hunters & Prey - Rule number one: humans and vampires don't co-exist. One is the hunter and one is the prey. Simple, right? Not for newly-turned vampire Alyssa. A surprise confrontation with Santino Vitale, the Acta Sanctorum's most fearsome hunter, sends her fleeing back to the world she once knew, and Fallon, the human friend she's missed more than anything. Now she has some explaining to do. However, that will have to wait. With the Acta Sanctorum hot on their heels, staying alive is more important than educating a human on the finer points of bloodlust.

Book 3: Pandora's Box - After a few months as a vampire, Alyssa thought she'd learned all she needed to know about the supernatural world. But her confidence is shattered by the delivery of a mysterious package - a Pandora's Box. Seemingly innocuous, the box is in reality an ancient prison, generated by a magic more powerful than anyone in her clan has ever known. But what manner of evil could need such force to contain it?

Book 4: Soulstone - It's a desperate time for rookie vampire Alyssa, and her sanity is hanging by a slender thread. Her clan is still reeling from the monumental battle with Aniketos; a battle that claimed the body of Lysander, her sire and lover, and trapped his spirit in a mysterious crystal. A Soulstone. Unfortunately, no amount of magic has been able to release Lysander's spirit, and the stone is starting to fade. Weeks of effort have proved futile. Her clan, the Peregrinus, have all but given up hope. Only Alyssa still believes her lover can be released.

Book 5: Moonlight- Good girls don't wear fur, or fight over men, and they certainly don't run around naked, howling at the moon. But then, no-one ever called Fallon a good girl. As a human unofficially mated to an Alpha werewolf, Fallon is being pressured to "become"...or be gone. Her mate Aiden, the interim leader of the Olde Town Pack, is in a position that demands he either choose a wolf mate...or leave the pack forever. No matter how hot the sex with Fallon is, he can't ignore centuries of tradition. Become a wolf or not. If only the choice were that simple. Fallon's options are further clouded by the overt presence of other females desperate to be the Alpha's mate. And when these bitches get serious, it's not just claws that come out. If Fallon wants to keep her man and take the title she'll have to exert a little dominance of her own.

Book 6: Dark Salvation - A gathering storm of violence is on the horizon. Whispered threats of the Acta Sanctorum's return have the supernatural world abuzz. Only recently aware of the other world hidden behind our own, Kitara Vanders has barely scratched the surface of what being supernatural truly means. A special woman in her own right, she possesses unique telepathic abilities, gifts that have recently come under the scrutiny of the Acta Sanctorum, a fanatical organization whose mission is to cleanse the world of anything supernatural. Targeted, and marked for death, Kitara's only hope lies with the lethally seductive Nicholas

Books In the Chronicles:

Dissension - The great cataclysm wiped almost all life from the face of planet Earth, but tiny pockets of survivors crawled from the ashes, with only one thought: survival, at any cost. But not all survivors were human.In the dark, militant society that has risen in the aftermath, vampires, once thought to be mythical, have been assimilated and enslaved. Used for blood sport their lives are allowed to continue only for the entertainment of the masses. Reviled as savages, they are destined to serve out their immortal lives in the arena, as gladiators. And there is no greater gladiator than Mira: undefeated, uncompromising...and seemingly unbreakable. When an escape attempt leads Mira into the path of Lucian Stavros, the city’s Regent, her destiny is changed forever.

Complication - Narrowly escaping death at the hands of the Magistrate, Mira travels west, toward the coast. With three weakened human fugitives accompanying her, she searches for the mythical land of Sanctuary.After encountering a pack of wolf shifters, headed by the charismatic—and brazen—Stryker, Mira learns that Sanctuary is real after all. Caldera Grove: home of the Otherkin. For Mira— a vampire— Caldera Grove is a land of peace; an escape from the relentless persecution of the humans who once enslaved her, and an end to the daily struggle and bloodshed of being a gladiator.For the humans accompanying her, Caldera Grove means death. Humans, greedy and untrustworthy creatures, are destroyed before they can penetrate its borders. What she finds within Caldera Grove presents her with an unenviable decision between her own desires for freedom and peace, or honor and the human companions who risked it all for her.

Revolution - Peace is an illusion. Blood, violence, and death follow Mira like shadows. Battle lines have been drawn between human and Otherkin and bloody war is on the horizon: one that will end in either a shift in the world’s balance of power...or ultimate destruction. With their strength, powers and a rage known only by the oppressed, the Otherkin are evenly matched against the superior numbers of the human army. To tip the balance in their favor, the Otherkin need more soldiers; and their only options are the Gladiators of New Haven city. Mira is sent across enemy lines to recruit any able-bodied vampires to her cause. But what she discovers along the way will blur the lines between friends and enemies. Seeds of doubt weaken Mira’s allegiance and she finds herself torn between the old masters who used her as entertainment, and the new ones who consider her as nothing more than a weapon. As the war draws near, Mira will have to decide what she is truly fighting for.