Death's Kiss by Regie Khemvisay

8/10/2019

Debut author, Regie Khemvisay, introduces us to her dystopian YA novel, “Death’s Kiss”:
For fans of the Hunger Games, 1984, and the Lottery...

Life is valuable. Death is a necessity. In Yliria, this is not a contradiction.

New Year’s Eve 2054. A virus, later named the BlackJack, struck and killed 3/4 of the world’s population. Only those who were 21 and younger were not infected. Treaties broke off. Countries severed connection to the outside world. And the country of Yliria built its own invisible walls.

Thirty-eight years later…Yliria is now at peace. But nothing is gained without sacrifices.

Yuri’s life was perfect. Family. School. Career. Then there’s Ryoma. Her one true love. Nothing could go wrong when she has everything planned out. But on the night of their anniversary, it did not end with a kiss.

Ripped from their normal lives, both Yuri and Ryoma woke up from a dream to face the real nightmares. As a punishment for their parents’ treason, they must serve the government—the System—as the new Aces of the Court Department, assigned to oversee and maintain the peace and balance within Yliria.

One week. 13 lives.

Armed, not with a weapon, but the same virus that destroyed the world. The Aces must escape their new fate. If not, the only path left in their future is the one covered in blood.

I was caught unawares by this book. I thought it was just another dystopian romance for the Young Adults (YA) category. It is that and so much more. The many and varied plot twists revealed to me that I was going to be kept on my toes for the entire ride. I really enjoyed this ride!
The author has some great characters in this story and the changes can be quite startling. I promise no spoilers, but it is harder than normal not to talk about many of the exciting moments. The scene-setting is not overdone, by any stretch of the imagination, it’s quite adequate; the dialogue is very good and action fills the bill nicely. All in all, this is a fun and exciting story with a number of tense moments.
I award a score of 4.5 stars to this wonderful tale of young lovers trapped in a world they didn’t make.

You can buy this book:
https://smile.amazon.com/Deaths-Kiss-Regie-Khemvisay-ebook
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42757941-death-s-kiss
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/deaths-kiss-regie-khemvisay

You can follow the author:
https://twitter.com/RAKhemvisay
https://www.regiekhemvisay.com
https://www.instagram.com/rkhemvisay

Tags: post-apocalyptic, fiction, science fiction, romance,

Copyright © 2019 Mark L. Schultz except for the author’s introduction

22 Comments

Regie Khemvisay link

8/10/2019 11:42:47 pm

Thank you so much Mark for this motivating review! Im really glad you enjoyed the story. There's nothing more rewarding than your readers saying they enjoyed your book. Thank you for giving Death's Kiss a chance and your precious time.

Mark

8/10/2019 11:49:29 pm

You are very welcome, Regie, you have an amazing story.
First question.
Please, tell us a little about yourself. Perhaps something a little bit beyond your bio.

Regie link

8/11/2019 12:33:44 pm

Hello! My name is Regie Khemvisay, a total Anime lover, Korean Drama addict who loves books, food, and rainy days. I am 26 years old but still in love with young adult novels. I am also fascinated with the dystopian genre so it was only natural that my debut novel was a YA dystopian romance. I was that tiny, skinny girl who decided to join the Army after high school in 2011 so I can go to college without having to depend on my parents and/or be in debt of student loans. I served 8 years in the Army and decided to do what I love and now I'm pursuing my Master's in Illustration.

8/11/2019 12:42:23 pm

Thank you, we have both served in the military, I was in the Air Force for 8 years.
Illustration and graphic arts are exciting forms, the cover gives us the second look at a book, after the title.
New questions.
Are you a full-time or part-time writer?
What inspired you to write this book?
Why did you choose this genre, or do you feel the genre chose you?

8/11/2019 01:36:06 pm

That's awesome! Were you stationed overseas in those 8 years?

Yes! I never really thought about how we actually judge a book by its cover until I had written a book myself. And illustrating my own book cover was so much fun.

I write on my free time or when I'm inspired. I'm currently taking a break right now, spending time and taking care of my son until I start searching for a job as a graphic designer or administrative assistant next year. I'm also taking this time to write my next novel and going to school for Illustration.

Death's Kiss came about when I was 21 hence a lot of reasons why 21 is such an important number within the story. The reason behind the virus was because of generation wars. I often wondered why the older generation and the present one criticized each other.

Why is the new generation changed so much? Why don't kids play outside anymore? Why are they so hooked up on technology? Why are values disappearing these days? But then what about the older generation? Isn't the older one responsible why the new generation is like this now? Or why certain issues such as equal human rights or discrimination are still continuing issues up to this day? Shouldn't the older generation have fixed it so the new generation doesn't have to suffer the same things again? I thought about a lot of these things and that's where the virus came and then the what if...

What if the new generation destroyed the old one and start anew? Can the world be changed? This was the motivation of the book and then writing it throughout the years, more issues I wanted to tackle, I was able to talk about in the book.

Dystopian is my favorite genre. 1984 was such an inspiration of why I started reading books. I became that student who spent her lunchtime in the library, hanging out with books rather than people. It made me think more about the world and human society. If I can be arrogant, I want to say books made me wise, made me think more. I owe it to George Orwell, I guess. Then there came the Hunger Games trilogy. I was just captured by that series and that's when I started collecting Dystopian novel. Half of my bookshelves, you will find Dystopian novels. It was only natural I wrote a dystopian novel as my first book. So I did chose this genre hoping that one day, someone will be impacted by my story the way 1984 changed my life.

8/11/2019 02:06:40 pm

Great questions that seem to come up with every generation. I don't think we will find an easy answer.
Orwell's book really scared me, as did Huxley's book, Brave New World. I read both in high school as I devoured almost every science fiction book in the school library.
New questions.
What do the elements on the cover represent?
Was it hard to come up with the title? What was the process?
Were the character names difficult to develop? How did you choose them?

8/11/2019 03:33:41 pm

The truest and bravest stories are the scariest ones for me, too. Because we know it can happen that we start to fear the future. Everyone has an idea to make the world a better one but not all ideas are for the better. Dystopian books are so thought-provoking and I think that's why I fell in love with them.

Another inspiration of the book was what if something as sweet as a kiss could become deadly? And so that's how the title came about. I always envisioned a silhouette of two people ALMOST kissing for my book cover so that's what I had. The background is a contrast of blue and red, sky and blood respectively. The dark night sky represents love and life. And the bloody red background represents death and sacrifices. I'm sure those four words: love, life, death, and sacrifices, readers will find and understand the context of those words in the story.

Yuri James
Ryoma Evans
Samantha Collins
Chrystian Hall

When I was choosing the Last names, I knew I wanted them to be easy to pronounce and that they can be first names. For Sam and Chrys, I intended for their names to be long but have a shortened name. Yuri and Ryoma are both Japanese names (product of my Anime addiction). Yuri means "lily", a flower the represents purity. Ryoma means "dragon and horse" in Japanese and with these meaning I translated that into a warrior and a knight (a knight in shining armor).

8/11/2019 04:59:16 pm

That is beautiful and very thoughtful. I didn't think about the colors being significant.
New questions.
This is the first book you have written. Will you be writing more in this series or something different?
Have you entered any writing contests?
Have you won awards of any kind for your writing?

8/11/2019 06:51:59 pm

I'm currently working on a new series that I'm planning to make into a trilogy. But as for the Death's Kiss world, I might write a sequel and a prequel, unfortunately that will take a while. I have two WIPs that I'm working on right now, both Fantasy/Romance.

I've entered Death's Kiss on a contest, but it was just a draft then so I didn't win anything. It wasn't until 2017/2018 that I decided I want my stories published so I'm very new in the writing community. I saw a couple of writing contests that I might enter some day, once my WIP is completed.

8/11/2019 09:35:18 pm

Your fans will welcome your new books when they come out. I am glad you are thinking about entering contests. They can be very helpful, especially if they include criticism from the judges. There are good contests and scam contests. Here is a blog about it: Beware Bogus Writing Contests! Look for These 8 Red Flags. https://annerallen.com/2019/05/beware-bogus-writing-contests/ via @annerallen This is from one of my favorite 5 bloggers. I also have this listed on my "Highly Regarded Blogs" page.
New questions.
Did you go through the query process or did you go straight to self-publishing, and why?
Do you have a favorite book by another author?
Did you have a favorite book as a child?

8/12/2019 07:13:12 pm

I went straight to self-publishing which I did regret afterwards. I think I was pressured to publishing my book that I didn't think of the options I had. If I were to go back to that time, I would try to query to get a literary agent.

It's not until I started buying books to collect that I actually paid attention to Author names. I have a couple of favorite authors like Michael Scott and Tahereh Mafi. I'm also now a fan of Leigh Bardugo.

Growing up I don't think I liked books. It was not until I was 15 that I started reading and enjoying it. But I did enjoy the story of Cinderella.

8/13/2019 03:43:13 pm

A lot of authors struggle with that decision. There are multiple reasons for the difficulty. One is the shrinking pool of major publishers. We have Amazon to thank for that. They have turned the publishing world upside down. It's not all bad though, anyone can publish a book. Many didn't take the time to polish their book and indie authors have been labeled as unprofessional for sometime.
Because of shrinking profit margins traditional publishers are not very willing to take a chance on an unknown author. That kind of author can stack the deck in their favor by having an active, multi-platform, social media presence; it also helps a lot if the author has a mailing list of several thousand fans they have collected through their author website.
While writing is a very creative process, an author also needs to treat their books as a business and think long term.
New questions.
You used an indie publisher for this book. How did you pick them or did they pick you?
Will you stick with this publisher for your next book?
How do you think your book compares to a book published by a major publisher?

8/13/2019 04:03:31 pm

I actually used Amazon KDP when I published my book and I don't have any issues with them, everything was easy process. What I had a problem of was asking help from a company who had mediocre services. I was satisfied with the editing service they provided but I had to reread many times to make sure they didn't mess up or they corrected the mistakes I told them about. It was a gruesome experience because after the editing process, I had contracted them to publish it in Amazon and distributed it, but they failed on that part. I had asked them to make sure to publish it on a certain date but over the weekend I couldn't get in contact with them. The cover, the website I had paid for wasn't what I expected for the price they asked for. It was really disappointing. So for those looking for publishing their book, I don't recommend Ghostwriting LLC. I had so much headache with that company and I don't wish that on anyone.

For my next book, I think I learned a lot from self-publishing, so this time I will be taking the traditional route. If many years pass and I don't get a literary agent for my book, I might self-publish them again.

I learned so many things in the writing community that I wished I learned before publishing my book. I know that Death's Kiss has a lot of flaws, but I'm sure they can enjoy the story as much as other books published by a major publisher. One reviewer mentioned that Death's Kiss has an Anime style of storytelling, so if one is a fan of Animes (Japanese Animation), I'm sure they will love Death's Kiss.

8/13/2019 07:22:14 pm

One of my clients self-published her first three books, she is now querying her fourth book. I think that is a good plan, she has a track record of sales, and any publisher will want to know how the previous books sold. That information forecasts the sales for the next book.
A lot of publishers either don't actually promote a book or they charge extra for that. Some publishers are more interested in the depth of your wallet than the depth of your book.
New questions.
Does writing have a spiritual or healing component for you, does it energize you or make you feel tired?
Are you an under-writer or an over-writer? When the first draft is done, do you need to add more to it to flesh it out or do you have to cut material because there is too much there?
Why is it important for writers to tap into the emotions of the characters?

8/13/2019 07:52:25 pm

Writing is like reading a book and drawing for me. It calms me down, unless I'm having a writer's block, then its very stressful. But I really enjoy writing and creating stories that I would want to read later on.

When the first draft is done, that's when I add the description and go in depth with the show, don't tell part. Mostly though, I think I add more to it and then just find the best way to restructure the sentences. For Death's Kiss, I had to cut off materials because I completely didn't leave off any possibility for the a sequel. I wrapped up the whole thing and it just didn't feel right that it ended with a happy ending.

I see characters as extensions of the writer. They represent our thoughts and worries in the world that we created which is why I think its important to tap into their emotions. It gives us the power to explore thoughts and understanding.

8/13/2019 08:24:02 pm

I have heard an old saying that has been going around for a long time. If you don't see a book you would like to read, it's time to write one. I guess I will never write a book because I want to read every book.
I thought the ending of Death's Kiss was good, a little sad, but good.
New questions.
Did you save the parts that didn't make it into the final version?
What do you do to flesh out the characters for your stories?
Have you ever used yourself or other acquaintances as a character for a starting point in a story?
Would they recognize you or themselves in the story?

8/15/2019 08:53:22 pm

I did intended for the ending to be bitter sweet. I'm glad you liked it.

I have about 10 short chapters that I had to delete and I saved them for the future. I've watched many Korean dramas and Animes that I have seen and analyzed thousands of character developments and I do use that as reference to flesh out my characters.
When reading the draft for Death's Kiss, one of my bestfriends was like "Wait, that's me! I'm like Sam!" She's not that arrogant though. Writers write what they know so we do usually use real people as reference for characters. It's a bonus we can do everything we want to do with them since it's our world, but sometimes I do get surprised that the characters I create has a mind of their own and they are the ones that lead the story.

8/16/2019 03:08:40 pm

Sam was quite arrogant, no doubt about that.
Many writer's have an acquaintance in mind when they write some of their characters, many also change aspects so there is no recognizing when that happens.
Quite a few authors have reported that the story goes in a direction other than their plan at times. Usually with positive results.
New questions.
What is one thing you hate about your protagonist and one thing you love about the antagonist?
Which is more fun to write, the protagonist or the antagonist, and why?
What is your writing routine when you sit down to write?
Do you write in a straight line or do you write whatever the muse provides for you at a given moment?

8/17/2019 11:24:38 am

Yuri had a wonderful childhood and she had a good family (or so she thought). She lived in a perfect world, so when her view of the world and people changed, she didn't know how to deal with that. I'm not going to say I hated the self-pity she had in the beginning, she was just really naïve and childish at times.
For Ryoma, I think the fact that he loved too much. I don't hate that, I just wished he gave more to himself than gave it 101% to Yuri. People say that when you love, you have to give them all of you, but I really don't believe that. You have to love yourself more than others because, unfortunately, people will come and go and not all love is the perfect and only love for you.

I loved the Director and my favorite scene is the one with Ryoma when they talked about war and peace. He was so much fun to write and I loved him because he was real. His thoughts are real and he viewed the world as it is and wants to make it better.

The Director and Lizbeth were more fun to write. They're just both feisty and they knew what they were doing. I can say they're the realest characters in the novel.

I don't have a routine, I write whenever I have the time. But the best time to write for me is nighttime. All ideas flood in when the moon is out. Rainy days are also my favorite. There's just something dramatic about the rain that inspires me to write. I'm not a coffee person either so I don't need caffeine to get my brain working. I really tried to plot my novel, but I'm a total pantser. Sometimes the characters lead everything and I just follow. As long as I get to the way I want the chapter to end, everything just falls in line and it works out.

8/17/2019 12:15:22 pm

I love the depth of your characters, not just for you, but for us the readers also.
There are seasons of life where you have to grab the opportunities that arise.
May authors report that sometimes the characters are leading the parade and sometimes they obey.
New questions.
Do you write in a straight line or do you write wherever the muse takes you?
How do you think your book relates to the world we live in today?
What is the one thing you hope your readers will remember from your book?

8/20/2019 10:55:47 am

Death's Kiss reflects the world's struggle for peace and order. War, as costly as it is, has been a solution by many leaders over many years. I wanted my world to be portrayed exactly like our world. What makes Death's Kiss scary is that it can never be too far from reality. Technology had been changing the game and sometimes we forget how dangerous it can be if used in the wrong way.

Another main point I was trying to illustrate in Death's Kiss is the fact that we are so caught up with our problems, sometimes we forget how to live. We worry so much about the future that we forget about today. It's a constant pull and push between today and tomorrow. So what day do you live for? Today? Tomorrow? That was one of the things I hope readers think about when they read the book. We need to take risks and chances so that we can win the game of life. And that no matter how many wrong things happening around us, we need to take a step back and be happy because we are never truly alone.

8/21/2019 02:11:16 pm

You are dealing with weighty issues there, just like so many authors for ages.
I have really enjoyed our chat. Thank you for joining me in this interview. I really enjoyed your book and look forward to the next like your other fans.

Death's Kiss by Regie Khemvisay

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