Romancing Your Darkside #3: A. Jacob Sweeny

First I would like to thank Patti for letting me guest blog on this page. I will include a small introduction to my novel Pulse of Heroes and then share some of the inner workings of my mind.

Pulse of Heroes weaves together elements from several different genres: romance, suspense, myth/fantasy, paranormal, history and at its core, a heroine’s journey and transformation. A. Jacob Sweeny has crafted a true and sensitive coming-of-age narrative of a quirky teenage girl protagonist becoming a confidant young woman with her own voice. At the same time, she draws the reader into a gripping adventure filled with fantastic historical elements and the crushing intensity of first love. Pulse of Heroes is a YA/crossover novel with memorable characters and several story arcs. It has a multi-cultural perspective with characters from around the globe, and a prominent female point-of-view. It is the 1^st installment in The Pulse series.

Here are excerpts from Pulse Of Heroes latest reviews…

“I love this book! Move over Edward and Bella, a new power couple has hit the scene! Michelle and Elliot from Pulse of Heroes by A. Jacob Sweeny will give Stephanie Meyer's characters a run for their money! I have read so many books, and it takes a lot to knock my socks off but A. Jacob Sweeny did just that! With her original storyline and unforgettable characters she has an award winning series in the making.” 

- Dawn Hagan, I love Books Blog-page- 

“Sometimes I will come across a novel, which I classify as a rare jewel: a book that captivates me from beginning to end… an amazing story that it is impossible for it to not capture my heart and Pulse Of Heroes is a rare jewel. There are only two other series' that I consider rare jewels: the Twilight series, and Vampire Academy ... I was wondering when the next book would come along that would really pull me in, make me feel emotionally attached to the characters, make me care about them in such a way that I would think about them weeks, months after I had finished reading the story and Pulse of Heroes did just that.”

- Treasured Tales For young Adults Blog-page-

“I have been waiting for a book to come along that has a new paranormal twist to it, Pulse Of Heroes is exactly that book! This book made me laugh, I wanted to slap characters, hide or cry out for help, and most of all it made me cry. Happiness, loss, pain, terror, and true love brought on an arsenal of tears that I couldn't stop no matter how hard I tried. I am absolutely on the edge of my seat for the next installment of this powerful moving series. I loved this book the same way I loved Twilight and The Hunger Games. The author signed my book "Enjoy the adventure and fall in love a little too". Her words were far shortcoming of what I experienced. Mirabolante the Italian word for astonishing is only cracking the surface of the multitude of words I really want to use.”-Anne, Paranormal Book Club-

Why I wrote Pulse of Heroes?

My true love is Ancient History, young people, and telling stories. The genesis of writing Pulse of Heroes came to me after I decided to no longer pursue a teaching career as a history teacher. Yet, I still loved telling stories about history and about all the connections that the ancient world has with the present. For example the fact that the word ‘sugar’ is a direct link to the ancient Sumerian word ‘sukar’ which meant beer/sweet in ancient Mesopotamia. It was later transferred into Hebrew to mean beer and later sugar in the Old Testament, and hence we still use it today. My other goal was to construct a coming of age story of a regular teenage girl; one that has dreams, insecurities and strengths, like any other young adult. It was after I finished writing a historical screenplay, that the seed of a novel implanted itself in my brain.

I wondered how I was going to present all these elements in a story without boring young people to death, or scaring them away, or without being preachy, or overly academic. And most of all I did not want to write a historical Fiction tale. Not to mention that I also wanted to convey a gut wrenching passionate romance where readers could actually taste the tears of feel the passion and the love.  Yet I didn’t want it to seem cheap or overly cheesy.  I also sought to present sexuality in a more neutral ‘organic’ setting. No sluts or virgins scales. That was when I came up with the love story between Michelle and my beautiful immortal guys (I had them in my mind for years but with no story) who have lived for thousands of years and have been personal witnesses to many things around the world. I then wove this idea to a coming of age story of sixteen year old Michelle because I wanted to present a strong female voice rather than a helpless girl waiting to be saved. I have her falling in love with Elliot who is one of the immortals, and through him and his relationships with his immortal friends that come from around the world, that the reader gets exposed to the treasures of the pasts. 

A. Jacob Sweeny holds a degree in History with an emphasis on Ancient Near East. Her immersion in world myths and her archaeological fieldwork provided the initial spark that led to the development of Pulse Of Heroes. Besides writing, A. Jacob Sweeny is a strong advocate for the protection of women and children worldwide. She enjoys cooking spicy food and regularly suffers from bouts of creative insomnia.

www.pulseofheroes.com