Today I have TWO new books to share with you. Yes, two. Both of these lovely novels are published through Gryfyn Publishing.
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Check them out and like them on Facebook to learn more about these books and their upcoming releases!
https://www.facebook.com/gryfynpublishing
Check them out and like them on Facebook to learn more about these books and their upcoming releases!
Alora by Megan Linski
Alora Blurb: For hundreds of years, Alora has been queen. Ruling over the most remote regions of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, she spends her summers riding upon a wild stallion, her winters as a winged wolf, never aging, forever at an eternal sixteen.
This is what it means to be an Anmortal.
Centuries pass until the arrival of something new in the woods, a small boy named August. Alora watches through the years as the child grows into a young man. Slowly she finds herself falling for him, unable to tame her wild heart. Madly in love, she ignores the fact that humans and Anmortals can never be together...a mortal cannot love a creature that lives forever.
Distracted by romance, Alora doesn’t notice that there is a monster lurking in the shadows, a hunter who is determined to make Alora his prize. With no time left to run and no way out, Alora is about to make the most challenging decision of her life. What's more important...her true love, or her freedom?
Author Bio: Megan Linski is the owner of Gryfyn Publishing and has had a passion for writing ever since she completed her first (short) novel at the age of 6. Her specializations are romance, fantasy, and contemporary fiction for people aged 14-24. When not writing she enjoys ice skating, horse riding, theatre, archery, fishing, and being outdoors. She is a passionate advocate for mental health awareness and suicide prevention, and is an active fighter against common variable immune deficiency disorder. She lives in Michigan.
So winged wolves? What’s up with that?
Wolves are my favorite animal, and I love anything with wings, so it only seemed natural to put them together. I see a lot of fantasy art of wolves with wings on different websites but have never seen a book about them, so I figured I’d write the first.
Can you tell us a little about your main character?
Alora is an immortal being (an Anmortal) who is a winged wolf in the winter and a young woman in the summer. She’s lived like this for thousands of years, and nothing for her has changed until a boy moves in nearby. Then it gets sort of tricky.
A love story, then?
A complicated one, haha. Things can be difficult for your relationship when one of you lives forever and the other one doesn’t, and the one who lives forever has to keep it a secret.
Who’s your favorite character in the novel?
The Windcomer. He’s this giant metal beast that hunts down Anmortals, and since Alora is the last, she’s next on his list. He’s dangerous, but at the same time his personality is so alluring, you don’t realize you’re trapped until he has you.
Okay, it's clear you love fantasy. What's your favorite fantasy read?
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle, no contest. It’s the book that actually inspired Alora.
All writers need fuel. Tell us what's your go to writing snack.
Usually I motivate myself with food. No eating until that chapter gets done!
Horseback or Rowboat?
Horseback everytime.
Chocolate or vanilla?
How about chocolate cake?
If you wrote a fan fic piece about any fantasy world, which would you choose?
I’ve written fan fic before, about Harry Potter and a couple of my favorite cartoons. It’s actually one of the ways I really improved in my writing and learned how to write a story properly.
If you could have a writing retreat somewhere, where would it be?
Northern Michigan. It’s the setting where Alora takes place, actually. When I’m visiting I feel like I could just write for hours nonstop. Things just seem magical up there.
Kiatana’s Journey by Natalie Erin
Kiatana’s Journey Blurb: Dragons fly, animals can speak and fairies rule over all in the realm they call the Lands, a place that is both beautiful and dangerous. Only one myth remains...Changers, beasts who can morph into any creature at will, and their Accompanies, the mysterious riders who command them. Chaos begins when a Changer called Ionan and his Accompany Keota crash down from the sky. They are found by two orphan wolf pups searching for their mother, and the fairy Kiatana, owner of the Verinian Forest. Kiatana refuses to trust the handsome stranger, or believe the story about his troubled past, but she soon finds she has bigger problems as a plague begins to spread throughout her land, killing all in sight. With no option Kiatana heads out on a quest with Keota, Ionan, the two wolves and her trusty pegasus to find a cure before the forest is destroyed forever. But danger has a way of finding her, and Kiatana isn’t sure if she’ll survive the road ahead...
Author Bio: Natalie Erin is a young author specializing in the fantasy genre. The Creatures of the Lands series has been her life’s work since she completed the first draft of Kiatana’s Journey in 2008, and she has been madly writing ever since. She has a love for creatures of all shapes and sizes (mythical and real) and considered becoming a veterinarian before realizing that her true passion lied in writing. When not working on her next book, Natalie advocates for animal welfare and wildlife preservation. Even though she’s an adult, Natalie still believes in fairies.
Kiatana’s Journey is about a fairy who has to save her forest from a deadly illness. What are some of the problems she faces on her quest to find a cure?
Kiatana has to battle elves, climb mountains, solve riddles, and fight monsters to save her home. But I think the biggest problem is that she gets in her own way, and if she isn’t compromising herself then one of her friends are. All of the characters on this quest have internal demons, and they surface more frequently than most of them would like.
Internal demons?
All of the characters have been damaged by the past in some way, and this has resulted in individual flaws that slow down the group as they travel. Lost love, a broken family, loneliness, grief, you name it and its there. Each of the characters try to ignore what’s happened to them, but what they find out is that to find a cure, they must confront their worst fears, and it’s never easy.
Sounds like really heavy stuff. Is there any time for fun?
There’s nothing but humor in this novel. If someone’s not upset they’re making a joke. I think humor is one of the things that banded this group together in the first place.
You wrote this book in 2008. Why publish it now?
I think that this book took six years to perfect and get right. And I don’t believe that the time was wasted whatsoever.
Friendship is one of the themes of the series. Are your friends like Kiatana’s?
My group from back when I was in high school resembled Kiatana’s so much. Now that I’m older I can’t say that too many of them have the same traits.
Animal sidekicks, love 'em or hate 'em? Do you have a favorite?
LOVE THEM. In Kiatana’s Journey there’s nothing but animal sidekicks. The wolf pups, Lottie and Lilja, are like my children, but I have to say that the Changer Ionan’s my absolute favorite. He can transform into any creature, and he’s so intelligent. He’s never at a loss for words.
Okay, it's time to divulge a deep secret about yourself: what's one thing you're afraid of?
I’M COMPLETELY FEARLESS!!! Except for cornfields. I don’t do cornfields.
Halloween or Thanksgiving?
Halloween, because I can be disgusting and dress up to scare people.
Tell us one of your favorite things about your story.
I enjoy how my characters interact. They’re not exactly bosom buddies. Kiatana’s group is a bunch of rag-tag outcasts who are forced to journey together to find a cure for a mysterious illness that no one knows about. They’re always either arguing, being really sarcastic, or saving each other’s lives. There’s no in between there. They’re the exact opposite of who you want to bet your life on, but unfortunately the creatures in my world have no option. It’s like being in the middle of a giant group of friends who stick together because as much as they hate to admit it, they need each other.
Do you have advice for aspiring writers?
Don’t accept your first draft for what it is. Seriously. My first draft of Kiatana’s Journey was the first book I ever wrote, and it was a complete disaster. There’s still things I shudder about when I remember that draft. Edit and revise!
