An unpaid debt - The Devil's Assistant series BY HD Smith

Claire, the Devil’s assistant, knows very little about the world she was dropped into five years ago, when she inherited her mother’s unpaid debt to the Demon King. She certainly didn’t expect to be a contender for the Fallen Queen’s throne, a target for the Druid King’s mafia, or a suspect in the murder of Junior, the Devil’s oldest hell spawn.

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Series Cover Artist: Robin Ludwig Designs

Dark Hope

Claire, the Devil’s assistant, knows very little about the world she was dropped into five years ago, when she inherited her mother’s unpaid debt to the Demon King. She certainly didn’t expect to be a contender for the Fallen Queen’s throne, a target for the Druid King’s mafia, or a suspect in the murder of Junior, the Devil’s oldest hell spawn.

In a last ditch effort to save her life and get out of her deal with the Devil, she sets out to solve Junior’s murder only to be taken prisoner by the four most dangerous immortal hell spawn alive.

Not to be out done, the Pagan Queen Mab, claims Claire for entering her realm uninvited. She has an old debt to settle with her brother the Devil. Taking Claire from him after losing her years ago is just icing on the cake.

Will Claire win her freedom, and save herself from the Devil? Or be trapped by Mab forever?

Dark Awakened

Last spring Claire’s seemingly normal—if not totally screwed up—life was tossed on its head. For five years she’d been one of the damned—a human that knows the truth about the otherworldly among us. She’d worked for The Boss—the Demon King himself—as his administrative assistant, handling everything from early retirements, to Maintenance’s incessant requests for dental.

No one gets dental.

Then she walked into Purgatory—totally not her fault—went back in time, and awakened powers she never knew existed. Now Claire has a prophecy hanging over her head, a diamond ring hidden in her sock drawer, and the blood of a long dead royal running through her veins.

And it’s only going to get worse.

Her vow to live free or die takes a serious hit when she’s forced back under The Boss’s protection. Of course, there’s no protection from fate, or the Bounty Hunter sent to deliver her to Purgatory. And as if being “the girl” in the prophecy wasn’t enough, Claire soon discovers there are three other contenders for her role—two of whom want her dead.

Follow more of Claire’s adventures in Dark Awakened, the second installment of the Devil’s Assistant Series, to find out if she’s lucky enough to escape with her life, or if she’s just the first notch on the next contender’s belt.

Dark Forsaken

Last Spring, Claire was framed for the murder of Junior, the Devil’s oldest hellspawn.

Last Summer, she reawakened the fourth realm, saved the world (after almost destroying it), and wound up with the worst job ever.

Now, Claire’s been locked out of her realm, given an assistant that doesn’t actually assist, and told to handle a small problem in Underworld that might just get her killed.

And to top it all off, Mab’s made one of the contenders her untouchable. So, yeah, you could say Claire’s having one of those days.

Follow more of Claire’s adventures in Dark Forsaken, book 3 of the Devil’s Assistant Series, to find out if Claire can defeat the latest contender, survive the quads, and replace the curator before Harry figures out she’s stolen his blood.

GUEST POST

Software Development and Creative Writing ... how the two are more alike than you might think.

There is more creativity involved in software development than you might think, but the real similarities (IMO) are with problem solving. To me, plotting a book is an idea that you take off the rails then problem solve to make sure everyone makes it out safe (at least everyone that you want to make it out safe). Software design is similar, the only difference is that I’m not trying to kill anyone—most days ;), but I’m always trying to make sure the code can handle all the possible scenarios and still deliver the correct answer.

Creativity also comes in bursts. Some days I can write 5,000 words easily, other days I’m desperately trying to get 2,500. Software development is the same way, although with the day job a lot depends on what I’m trying to code. Some things take little effort—adding a new column to a database and filtering that change through the code—is mindless work, a simple task list to complete. Determining the best (most efficient/fastest) way to distribute gratuities to X people Y different ways, requires more thought and may or may not happen quickly.

Distractions are a problem in both fields—“heads down” coding time sometimes must be forced—by closing the office door and ignoring everyone so you can focus on a problem or just get several coding tasks knocked out to feel like you have accomplished something. The same is true with writing, sometimes you have to disconnect from social media and other noise and just stare at the screen until inspiration hits!

I have been writing code professionally since 1997. I got the writing bug in 1999 after I completed my master’s degree in Computer Science and thought, “Is this it?”

Please check out my awesome Urban Fantasy series. The first three books in the series are on sale this week. Dark Hope (book 1) is FREE – Feb 5-9 (last day!), Dark Awakened (book 2) is $0.99 – Feb 5-12, and Dark Forsaken (book 3, new release) is $0.99 – Feb 5-12. Books 1 & 2 are also available in audio, which can be added to your ebook purchase for only $1.99 each. Book 3 audio will release in April or May 2016.

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About the author:

HD Smith has been writing for over ten years. She is a software developer by day, working for an awesome cruise line in Celebration, FL.

HD grew up in South Carolina, but has called the Sunshine State home since 1997. She has Computer Science degrees from Clemson University (BS) and Florida Institute of Technology (MS).

Her other hobbies include painting and screen printing. She enjoys creating t-shirts inspired by the places in her books.

For more information, visit HD's:

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