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She Learns To Wield The Magic
The Wild Rose and the Sea Raven is a genre-crossing novel with elements of fantasy, fairytale, and romance as well. Did you start writing with this in mind, or did this happen organically as you were writing?
I adapted the medieval French legend of Tristan et Yseult, which is heavily interwoven with Arthurian myth. I knew I wanted to write a paranormal fantasy version of this medieval romance, complete with Druids, forest fairies, dark magic, Avalon, and Elves, so I researched a lot of dark tales from the enchanted Forest of Brocéliande, birthplace of Merlin, Lancelot, and the Lady of the Lake Viviane. My paranormal romance dark fantasy trilogy incorporates many of those mystical tales of Arthurian myth into the original medieval French legend of Tristan et Yseult.
In your novel, I picked up some inspiration from other fantasy novels that I thought played well in the story. What were some of your sources of inspiration for this book?
Marion Zimmer Bradley’s classic, “The Mists of Avalon” was a big inspiration for me, as were many legends associated with King Arthur–especially the forging of Excalibur in dragonfire on the island of Avalon by an Elf descended from the Gods. I knew I wanted to have Avalon and the Elves play a huge role in my trilogy. And when I discovered that Tristan (my male protagonist) was a Knight of the Round Table with Sir Lancelot, who was trained in Avalon by the Elves, I knew that would be essential to my plot.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
I did a lot of research into herbal medicine and healing crystals, since my female protagonist Issylte is a healer. I created an elemental “verdant magic” for her to wield as she discovers her latent gift as a forest fairy who heals with natural herbs. I developed the plot so that Fate would lead Issylte to Avalon–where she learns to wield the magic of all three sacred elements of the Goddess (forest, water, and stone). In my novel, Lancelot brings the grievously injured Tristan to Avalon, the Island of Healing, where Tristan meets his fated mate, Issylte– the only one skilled enough to heal him.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
“The Lady of the Mirrored Lake”, book 2 of “The Wild Rose and the Sea Raven” trilogy, will be released January 23. It continues the paranormal fantasy medieval romance of Tristan and Issylte as the fated mates discover a transcendent passion, wield their Druidic magic, and join forces with shapeshifting allies to defend their Celtic kingdoms from the wicked Black Widow Queen.
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Tristan of Lyonesse is a Knight of the Round Table who must overcome the horrors of his past and defend his king or lose everything. When he becomes a warrior of the Tribe of Dana, a gift of Druidic magic might hold the key he seeks.
Haunted and hunted. Entwined by fate. Can their passion and power prevail?
The Wild Rose and the Sea Raven
A medieval fantasy story full of magic, royalty, knights, and elves, The Wild Rose and the Sea Raven by Jennifer Ivy Walker is sure to entertain lovers of fairytales and fantasy alike. The story begins with a young princess, Issylte, who is next in line for the throne. Trouble comes when her father chooses to marry an evil woman who treats Issylte cruelly. After the queen arranges to kill the young princess, the two huntsmen refuse and send her into the forest on her own. There, she meets a fairy witch who takes her in. As she learns about magic, she learns of her true mate, Tristian, a Knight of the Roundtable with a dark past and a love of being a warrior. Together they must save her kingdom from her evil stepmother.
The story was interesting and engaging. The characters’ relationships were well developed, and the aspects of magic were fascinating, as they included herbal remedies and other nonconventional kinds of magic. There are mature themes within the story, and it combines several different threads of fairytales and fantasy tropes.
The development of the main character Issylte was well done, as we see her go from scared and lost to strong and independent as the story progresses. The same is said of the other protagonist, Tristian. He gains more and more knowledge and friends as the story moves along. I feel the author tried too hard with the style of dialogue, it wasn’t exactly right for the period. I felt that tropes seemed overused at times, such as the mate bond between the two protagonists and elves in a medieval fairytale setting feeling off.
The Wild Rose and the Sea Raven is a riveting mix of fantasy, fairytale, and historical romance. Readers will find threads of old-time favorites with a unique twist and perspective. With magic, knights, and a wicked queen there is something for all readers who want mature content and a fascinating adventure.
Pages: 377| ASIN : B0B8XNMYBS
How Did This Happen
The Dawning: 31,000 BC follows the love story of two people in prehistoric times who are kidnapped and thrust into the middle of a conflict. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
The marvelous Paleolithic drawings at Chauvet Cave in southern France. It is difficult to view these drawings and then call the people who made them, “primitive”.
What kind of research did you do for this novel to ensure you captured the essence of the story’s theme?
I read about about 20 books and studied European archeology at The University of Virginia.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Political evolution. Specifically, the development of human government. Rousseau rightly said: “Man was born free but it everywhere in chains.” Why, how did that happen. Why has mankind repeatedly chosen subjugation over freedom.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
I’m not sure. I’m thinking about a sequel to The Dawning. I’m also thinking about another historical novel set in the gem/jewelry trade. Perhaps, an ancient goldsmith drawing on my 40 years experience as a goldsmith/gemologist. Whatever it is it will be a historical novel.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website
Ejil and Lada, son and daughter of a Cro-Magnon tribe (on the verge of adulthood) have begun to explore their maturing feelings when an encounter with a clan of Neanderthal hunters tears their Ice Age world apart. Lada is lost and Ejil finds himself embarked on a desperate odyssey to find the mother tribe.
The Neanderthals, a pale skinned people, occupied Ice Age Europe for three hundred thousand years. Dark-skinned Cro-Magnons, our direct ancestors, appeared forty-five thousand years ago. Five thousand years later, the Neanderthals had disappeared. What happened when our two ancestral peoples came face to face on the ice bound plains of prehistory?
Travel back 33,000 years into our deep past. Set against the backdrop of the fabulous painted caves of Southern France, follow the gripping tale of two young lovers and the sweeping narrative of ancient cultures met in bloody conflict.
The Dawning: 31,000 BC
The Dawning: 31,000 BC by Richard W. Wise is set in prehistoric times, going back 33,000 years. The story is inspired by the age when the Neanderthals clashed with Homo Sapiens on earth in a battle for domination. The battle for supremacy however, in this fiction is between members of the Cro-Magnon tribe and a clan of pale-skinned Neanderthals. When Lada and Tule are unexpectedly kidnapped by unknown tribesmen and the Cro-Magnon tribe is ransacked, Ejil, the son of the Cro-Magnon tribe must, together with unlikely allies, save his people. Different kinships and families are broken and forged amid the war. The story also features a tale of young-love blooming in a bloody conflict.
Author Richard Wise provides readers with a fascinating take on the past in this prehistoric historical romance novel. He draws inspiration from tales of ancestral people who once roamed the earth and whose extinction is still a subject of different academic debate. The author displays an obvious flair for history gathered through research. His knowledge about the concept can be gleaned from his insight and vivid descriptions of the habits, mannerisms and techniques of ancestral people before the development of the world.
The barbarism of cavemen in premodern times is evident and the characters use a lot of derogatory and demeaning terms towards women. The Dawning: 31,000 BC was engaging and I reveled in the author’s descriptions of the settings. The emphasis on character development certainly makes the story quite fun and immersive to read. Although, a different era, the experience and customs of these ancestral people are not unfamiliar. I’ve read many historical romance novels, but none that go this far back in time. This is a fantastic story that will appeal to fans looking for an accurate depiction of prehistoric times and the strife those people faced, or for any reader looking for a thoughtful love story story in the midst of it all.
Pages: 342 | ASIN: B0B6PRF88M
Literary Titan Gold Book Award December 2022
The Literary Titan Book Awards are awarded to books that have astounded and amazed us with unique writing styles, vivid worlds, complex characters, and original ideas. These books deserve extraordinary praise and we are proud to acknowledge the hard work, dedication, and writing talent of these brilliant authors.
Gold Award Recipients
Visit the Literary Titan Book Awards page to see award information.
Literary Titan Silver Book Award December 2022
The Literary Titan Book Awards are awarded to books that have astounded and amazed us with unique writing styles, vivid worlds, complex characters, and original ideas. These books deserve extraordinary praise and we are proud to acknowledge the hard work, dedication, and writing talent of these brilliant authors.
Silver Award Recipients
Visit the Literary Titan Book Awards page to see award information.
An Homage To My Grandmother
Them Days follows a young immigrant teen who is sent to Winnipeg to work as a maid for the wealthy. What made you write a story about this topic? Was anything pulled from your life experiences?
My grandmother was a Ukrainian immigrant to the Canadian Prairies in the early 1900s. After my mother died just before my 14th birthday, I lived with my grandmother and she used to tell me stories about “Them Days”. As I got older, I realized that I had a debt of gratitude to my grandmother for putting up with me as a difficult teen, and her stories stuck with me. When I started to research the period I realized just what a difficult and interesting time it was in Canadian history and how badly the Ukrainians were treated. So the novel is an homage to my grandmother, to her family and to the tens of thousands of Ukrainian immigrants who persevered and helped build Canada into the country it is today.
What kind of research did you do for this novel to ensure you captured the essence of the story’s theme?
I did considerable reading on the internment of the Ukrainians in Canada during WW1, on Winnipeg during the war, on the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918 and on the great Winnipeg General Strike. I also visited pioneer museums, watched documentaries and talked to older family members who also had memories from their parents about life on the homestead.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Firstly, the extreme discrimination experienced by the Ukrainian and other eastern European immigrants at the hands of the English Canadians. The degree of discrimination was shocking, as evidenced by the leading newspaper editorials of the day which routinely referred to them as ‘scum’, recommended locking them up in labour camps, and deportation without recourse to any legal rights – all recommendations which the Government of Canada implemented!
Secondly, the resilience of the Ukrainians to endure the hardships of pioneer life on hardscrabble ground in the bitter winters of the Canadian Prairies, followed by the ongoing discrimination they faced in their daily lives when they moved to the cities. They persevered and eventually succeeded despite everything.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
It is a departure for me in that it is a book for young adolescents based on the lifecycle of a robin. I hope it will be available by the fall of 2023, but I need to finish writing it first!
Author Links: Facebook | Website
Sofiya, a young Ukrainian immigrant, experiences all of this and more. It could be 2022, but it’s Manitoba in the early 1900s.
Sofiya is the third consecutive girl born on a poor homestead near Gimli in 1903. She is bright and feisty but nothing more is expected of her than to be a domestic, and at age thirteen she is sent to be a maid to a wealthy family in Winnipeg. There, she experiences the condescension of the English towards the ‘Bohunks’, while her half-brother is interned during WW1, deemed an enemy alien.
While the Great War is raging in Europe, an undeclared war between the classes is being fought at home. This conflict comes to a head in the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 when the working classes rise up against their English masters, shut down the city and demand a better deal. The city is divided and everyone must choose a side.
Them Days takes you on Sofiya’s journey, as she discovers what it means to be an immigrant and a woman, struggling to find love and her identity – at the same time that Canada is breaking free from Mother England’s apron strings.
Literary Titan Gold Book Awards November 2022
The Literary Titan Book Awards are awarded to books that have astounded and amazed us with unique writing styles, vivid worlds, complex characters, and original ideas. These books deserve extraordinary praise and we are proud to acknowledge the hard work, dedication, and writing talent of these brilliant authors.
Gold Award Recipients
Bugles In The Dust – Civil War Veterans On The Chicago Fire Department by George Levy
Visit the Literary Titan Book Awards page to see award information.
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