Becoming Banshee by Kimberly Quay

In the mood for a kick-ass read? Becoming Banshee, the first book in the Fire Banshee series, by Kimberly Quay is the one for you! It is a sexy urban fantasy, with a strong female lead, action, humor, and romance. It's recommended for 18+ due to language and sexual situations. Here’s the synopsis:

My parents' love was forbidden. They died for it and my life is in danger because of it.

As a half-fairy, half-mortal living with a clan of banshees, you'd think I'd be safe. But when one of our enemies figures out what I am, I'll have to fight for my life... not to mention the lives of countless mortals.

How hard could that be for a kick-ass Hunter? Harder than I realized.

Selling mortals to the highest bidder isn't enough for the sadistic sicko anymore. Now he wants to create a superhuman race... using me as his lab rat. I'll need to end him before he gets to me but seeking out his hidey-hole proves trickier than I thought.

And it seems I'm following in my mom's footsteps, falling for a guy I probably shouldn't, but the aura wants what the aura wants. While my love for the sexy-as-hell leader of my clan grows, so do my innate abilities. Abilities that will far exceed anything I'd ever dreamed.

When I gain full control over these stronger powers, anyone who comes after me, or those I love, will be in for a world of hurt.

Try me.

J.C. - Oooohh, Kim, that is a fiery synopsis! Can you heat it up a little more by introducing yourself to our readers? Hey there! K.Q. - I’m Kimberly Quay, the author of the Fire Banshee trilogy. It’s urban fantasy with a strong female lead, lots of action, romance, and humor. I’m currently working on recording the audiobook versions for the series. It’s a lot harder than I expected but it’s fun to act out all my characters!

J.C. - How did you come up with the idea for Becoming Banshee? K.Q. - I love reading urban fantasy about vampires, but it was all so similar. I wanted something new. One day the idea just popped in my head, and I ran with it. I didn’t plot or outline anything, I just wrote.

J.C. - What I loved most was that the series is about banshees. Vampires and werewolves are so overdone, this was new and refreshing. What made you pick a banshee? K.Q. - The idea of a creature from a not-as-well-known folklore being real but different from the myths, intrigued me. I thought about vampires but with some different qualities, but almost everything I came up with had been done. I wasn’t too into shifters yet, so I didn’t really give it too much thought. And then I read a book that had a small side character who was a banshee. But the banshee was very close to the folklore. And then I started playing with the idea of making banshees both male and female. Making them alive, not spirits. Making them look just like mortals so they blend in while feeding from the mortals’ essence. Because they feed from mortals, banshees must keep their existence a secret. I actually started Becoming Banshee more for fun than anything else. I never expected to publish it, but here we are!

J.C. - Throughout the series Kadi is developing powers. If you could have a supernatural power, what would it be? K.Q. - I like the idea of being immortal. Is that a power? I had breast cancer at 28 and ever since then I’ve been enthralled with the idea of immortal beings who never get sick and whose wounds heal.

J.C. - There are some dark themes in the book including a few trigger warnings, hence the 18+ recommended reading age. However, they were thoughtfully written with tenderness and care. How do you handle writing these topics without getting depressed? K.Q. - I have to take myself out of it. Kind of turn ‘me’ off and just write through it. We’ve all been through hard times in our lives, and I think it’s important that books have some of that strife. I like feel-good reads, but I prefer when the characters have difficulties to overcome. Life happens and our characters have to go through some tough times. I think it makes them more relatable. If everything was perfect and rosy all the time, it’d get boring… quickly.

J.C. - Ah, Sugar, I think Rufus may be my favorite character. Do you have one? K.Q. - It’s a toss-up between Rufus and Uncle Bryce. But I think I lean more toward Rufus. He’s so fun to write because he’s so morally grey and sarcastic! He loves poking at Kadi and I laugh out loud sometimes when I write those scenes. I also love Thane, the shifter… we may see more of him in the future in a spinoff... I’m still not 100% sure yet.

J.C. - Who has been your biggest support system while on this writing adventure? K.Q. - My husband, hands down. He is the one who encouraged me to finish Becoming Banshee (which took me way too long to write) and then he helped with researching how to self-publish. And even today he helps with marketing and research. He’s definitely my biggest supporter and fan, and I’m forever grateful for him. My friends and family are also huge supporters. They read my books and encourage me to keep writing. The online community was a surprising boon in all of this. I have never been big on social media, so I was pleasantly surprised by the writing community on Instagram.

J.C. - Finish the sentence. In ten years I’d like to …

K.Q. - still be writing books while traveling the world!

J.C. - Book three, titled Banshee Blood, was published on January 10, 2022. What can you tell us about it? K.Q - It continues a few months after book 2 (Banshee Bewitched) and we learn more about the Fey, their history, and way of life. Kadi has bad guys after her unique blood so she and her clan will have to find a way to stop them. It also continues her romance with Ian. I wanted to put a little more of their relationship in this book as it’s the last in the series, so we see more of them together. And of course, there is more Rufus! We learn more about him as well.

J.C. - Lastly, where can readers find you and your work?

K.Q. - My website is www.KimberlyQuay.com. I’m on Instagram, Facebook, GoodReads, BookBub, and TikTok (I’m very camera shy, but slowly getting some things on there). My books are all available on Amazon (KindleUnlimited) and readers can follow me on there as well. I am currently working on getting the audiobooks done and up on Audible, so keep an eye out for those!

Thank you for reading about Kimberly Quay and Becoming Banshee. This is a series for your TBR! Here’s my review: I received an autographed paperback copy directly from the author. What intrigued me most about this series is the concept of this book. Out of all of the fantasy novels I have read, I have not read anything including Banshees. My interest was instantly piqued. From the first paragraph, you are thrust into action and adventure. My fingers flew through the pages and I devoured the entire book in just two sittings. This was dark, edgy, and full of fire. Definitely for the 18+ crowd as it contains adult content. Speaking of which, the adult content is tasteful and takes place mostly off-screen, so don't shy away from picking up this book. I'm already off to reading the sequel!