Author Interview - Skhye Moncrief on Ancient Musings and Forbidden Eternity

Emma: Today, I am featuring an interview with author Skhye Moncrief on her Song of the Muse story Ancient Musings currently available from The Wild Rose Press.

Blurb:

Disgusted with her lack of purpose, Calliope is learning all too well the warning in be careful what you wish for. She challenged Zeus and landed in Hades. Now she needs to reach Gaia’s pool to save herself from the Land of the Dead’s darkness. Little did she expect a psyche to reveal the path to tomorrow.

The soul of archaeologist, Jake Genoese, is bored to tears until he finds the beautiful Calliope, intriguing and bearing the token he needs to jumpstart his day-excursion on the afterlife’s cruise to nowhere.

One’s light brightens the other’s future as Olympians vie for power by toying with psyches in the Kingdom of Hades, for nothing more than the simple whims of ANCIENT MUSINGS.

Welcome, Skhye!

Skhye: Thanks for having me over again! I hope your pregnancy is treating you well today.

Emma: Pregnancy is going well, thank you! And, thanks for putting in a second appearance! A brief recap from your first interview reveals the fact that you’re an anthropologist and scientist. Jake is/was an archaeologist. What is the proper tense for a soul, I wonder?

At one point in the story, you talk about jokes using archaeological terms. Your stories show you have a wicked sense of humor. Do you have any funny jokes or riddles for us?

Skhye: Honestly, those jokes just don’t lurk, waiting for the willing. :) Jokes in my work are usually contextual—dependent upon a character’s perception of reality and his/her current pickle. :) Or the joke would be cliché. However, everyone needs to experience a good smudging. ;) In real life, I tend to freak people out with what I think funny. They obviously haven’t taken geology or anthropology. :-/

Hmmm, the proper tense for a soul would depend upon whether we consider one alive or not. Christianity’s “living” Christ may help readers connect with Jake’s almost-corporeal self. And I’m fortunate I write paranormals. Paranormal readers are open to looking at things outside the box.

Emma: My vote is for the present tense! All of your work is very complex. You incorporate mythology from a variety of cultures, making the reader comfortable and teaching them new lores all at the same time.. Is world building your favorite aspect of writing?

Skhye: Oh, yes. That’s the challenge I find in writing. I read to crack an author’s world—to descry where his/her ideas came from. I’m certain that’s what you’re picking up on. I also love sexual tension and cultural relativism (culture shock) that gives me a good laugh. The culture shock is about world-building though. So, it’s one in the same. A second challenge that haunts me is writing a solid romance amidst all the cultural flotsam and jetsam. This point leads to how I managed such a feat in Ancient Musings...

As for the mythology in Ancient Musings, I researched the ancient Greek’s ideas of death/dying/life/afterlife to the literal death for this tale. Everything you read in this novella is rooted in an extinct ideology that carried over into the present in works like The Odyssey. The ideas are second-hand information filtered through language translation as well as our Post-Industrial thought process. My point is we can never truly know what any extinct culture thought. ;) However, once I patted down the foundation for the general ancient Greek ideas about life and the underworld, I had to add a few details. But an author’s poetic license allows for additions. Or, we’d just get the same old story over and over.

If you’re reading to get a firm grasp on ancient Greek ideas of life and death, you will definitely walk away from with a strong understanding of what’s available to literature and archaeology students in academic circles. But I wouldn’t say that the story is dry. Would you? I’m a big fan of showing instead of telling. I want to plunge into the world and experience what the POV characters experience in real time whenever I read. Hence, I want to write what I enjoy reading.

Emma: Well I know you have readers out there who enjoy what you write!

Skhye has other works available to include He of the Fiery Sword, The Spell of the Killing Moon, Naked on the Staircase, Vow of Superstition: Dragon’s Blood, and Sacrificial Hearts also available through The Wild Rose Press.

We’re also celebrating the release of Forbidden Eternity today! Congratulations, Skhye! Do you want to share a little about your latest release?

Skhye: Sometimes the forbidden proves the only cure…

In present-day Scotland, a shape-shifting shaman and a Druid embrace the forbidden to safeguard history from renegade gods bent on sabotaging history by kidnapping the Goddess of Time.

A woman Cochise despises is his only hope for a future. He has no choice except to swallow his pride and protect Druidess Mairi from a man who is blackmailing her into breaking time-travel Code by kidnapping her sister. But his presence tempts Mairi into risking her sister’s life in falling in love. A fairy hairball and a pack of Hell Hounds force the duo to hide on an astral plane where there is no resolution beyond facing their FORBIDDEN ETERNITY.

“Hairball?” you’re thinking… That hairball is a goddess’ secret weapon. Go with your imagination. ;) But Cochise and Mairi are two of those characters I like to consider open-minded. Well, Cochise can be when he isn’t ticked off. Now, each character must have a flaw, right?

Emma: Sounds intriguing! Well, I don’t want to keep you too much longer, but I have to ask what we get to look forward to next.

Skhye: Swordsong is in edits. It’s my most traditional Time Guardian romance set in present-day Scotland. I hear the kilted hero is the most valiant Time Guardian… Everyone who has read his story says they want one of him! Me, I’m not picky. I like all of my heroes.

I’m also almost finished writing a werewolf space opera and hope to start typing the first words of a dragon-hunter tale by Sunday. :)

CONTEST:

Everyone swing by http://blog.skhyemoncrief.com/ to get in on a huge month-long contest. There's a prize to be won today!

Emma: Thanks for the heads up on the contest and thanks so much for dropping by. Good luck on your future works!

Skhye: Thank you for having me over, Emma, and for reading Ancient Musings. You always ask the best questions to get to the root of a story! But don’t forget to write some during your pregnancy. Trying to steal time to write after D-day is very tricky. ~Skhye

Author Interview - Hywela Lyn on Dancing with Fate

Emma: Today, I am featuring an interview with author Hywela Lyn on her Song of the Muse story Dancing With Fate currently available from The Wild Rose Press.

Blurb:

Terpsichore's task, to restore a love of dancing to the folk of Wales, seems simple. However, all is not as it seems. Danger follows. Legends are threatened. She had not meant to lose her heart or to have to save the man she loves by dancing with Fate.

To view the trailer go to http://www.blazingtrailers.com/show.php?title=371.

Welcome Hywela Lyn!

Hywela Lyn: Hello Emma. Thank you so much for having me here today, it’s wonderful to be here sandwiched between two of my ‘muse sisters’. I do mean that in the nicest possible way, it’s been wonderful being part of the muse series and I feel very privileged to be in the company of such talented authors.

Emma: The blurb tantalizes the reader without giving any of the story away. However, in the interest of teasing readers even more, would you care to reveal where you got the inspiration for the story?

Hywela Lyn: Well of course, like most of the muse authors, I think, I began doing a lot of research into Greek mythology, which I have to admit, although I have always been interested in, I didn’t at the time, know an awful lot about. Being a muse, with a mission to inspire, I wondered where her next assignment would be and of course my beloved native Wales was the obvious choice. When I began sifting through some of the myths and legends I’d grown up with, I realized how much influence a certain Myrddyn ab Morfryn (No I won’t give away his English name to those of you who aren’t familiar with him, but his identity is revealed at the end of the story) had on mediaeval legends and I realised he was the perfect soulmate for my muse.

Emma: Dancing, like writing, is an art form and can be used to communicate. What do you think Terpsichore communicates with her dancing?

Hywela Lyn: Above all, I think she communicates the joy of living, and the expression of happiness through music and movement. When the story begins, Celtic Wales is suffering from the aftermath of years of war and its people are sorely in need of someone to lift their spirits and teach them to sing and dance again. After all, Wales is known as ‘the land of song’! However that is only the beginning. By her dancing she communicates to Myrddin that she is a wild and beautiful spirit and that they share an affinity with the natural, as well as the unnatural, world.

Emma: The scenery in the story is beautifully described. I read in your bio that you’re from Wales, which would explain how you lovingly detail the Welsh countryside. Have you found any other place as beautiful?

Hywela Lyn: Thank you so much Emma. Wales, with her craggy, mountainous countryside, much of it unspoilt and sparsely populated, is very dear to me. I love her lakes and waterfalls as well as the miles of beautiful coastline. The only place that for me, comes close to it is the Highlands of Scotland, where if anything, the mountains are even taller and the countryside is just as wild and untamed. (Sadly, I’ve never visited the US, and I’m sure I would love the Western States and the prairies.) However, Wales will always be my first love.

Emma: Hywela has other works to include Starquest and A Bargain with Death, a free read, available through The Wild Rose Press. Did I miss anything, Lyn?

Hywela Lyn: No, these are the three stories I have available with TWRP at the moment, although I have a sequel to ‘Starquest’, coming in June.

Emma: Well, I don’t want to keep you too much longer, but I have to ask what we get to look forward to next.

Hywela Lyn: Well, Emma, as I say, the sequel to ‘Starquest’ is due for release on the 19^th June. It’s set on one of the planets featured in Starquest and has some new characters as well as several from the first book. I’m currently working on another ‘muse’ story and have some ideas brewing for a possible third story in the ‘Starquest’ saga and and, getting away from fantasy, an historical Western romance.

Emma: Thanks so much for dropping by. Good luck on your future works!

Hywela Lyn: Thank you very much for having me here today Emma, I’ve really enjoyed it.

Author Interview - Masha Holl on The Brightest Heaven

Emma: Today, I am featuring an interview with author Masha Holl on her Song of the Muses story The Brightest Heaven currently available from The Wild Rose Press.

Blurb:

Urania, muse of Astronomy, is disconsolate: technology flourishes, but true creativity seems lost. Then she meets Daniel Kettering, an astrophysicist who shines with inspiration. But he's about to make a discovery which will threaten time, space, and every existing world.

The Olympians order Urania to carry an ultimatum for Daniel: forget your research and get eternal life. Or else. But first, Urania and Daniel have to figure out who stole Daniel's research, save the universe, and defeat Chaos; and maybe find happiness.

This story is definitely a five star read! It is funny, technically accurate (well as accurate as anything dealing with theoretical science can be), and kept me on the edge of my seat.

Welcome, Masha!

Masha: Thank you, Emma! I'm glad to be here.

Emma: Would you mind giving us a brief background on the inspiration behind the Song of the Muses series?

Masha: The series was the brainchild of Ami Russell, who was a Wild Rose Press editor at the time. It started as a challenge, and to be honest, I didn't know whether I could rise to it. As it often happens, the idea for Urania's story came to me in the shower. Well, after that, I couldn't let anyone else tell her tale!

Emma: Your work is loaded with science, which is appropriate, of course, for Urania. How much research went into this technically detailed tale?

Masha: Quite a bit. I did the usual Internet searches, and some nerdish book reading. Of course, I don't pretend to understand quantum physics beyond the basic concepts, but then that's when my story veers into fantasy. After all, no one has proven the existence of parallel universes. Or disproven it, for that matter. As for the computer hacking, well, I wanted to convey the excitement of solving a puzzle, not the technical know-how. That would have been boring. But the kind of viruses I introduced into my hero's computer, yes, they are possible.

Emma: You did a great job of portraying the challenge that software writers enjoy the most!

Having worked in an institution of higher learning, I was vastly amused with the accuracy with which you captured the politics of higher education. I peeked at your CV (curriculum vitae) and have to assume it’s because you have spent a good portion of your time in the environment.

What surprised me though was how you have used your Russian heritage to provide people with cultural and historical information that is otherwise unaccessible. Do you have any plans to publish some books using this knowledge?

Masha: I write what the story calls for, but I can't escape my own background. So yes, I do have plans for tales based on Russian folklore and legend, but they're still nebulous. They might involve reincarnated (or reborn) heroes from the past, or maybe it will be something more high-fantasy. Maybe something with horses. Anyway, I think some elements of Russian folklore or culture always surface in my writing, possibly more than I'm really aware of.

As for the academic world, yes, I have worked in colleges and universities most of my adult life, and I have taught quite a few college courses. I have the greatest respect for academics (after all, my husband of more than twenty years is a tenured professor), but I am also amused by the quirky academic world. I will probably have more characters connected to universities in the future. After all, as you have guessed, I am quite familiar with the milieu, and what do I know about the corporate world?

Emma: Masha has another work with The Wild Rose Press. Do you want to give us a little hint about what The Joining is about?

Masha: The Joining came out in February, and it's a classic space-opera: spaceships and aliens, battles, chases, and a satisfying resolution. Yes, I'll admit it, I have a weakness for science fiction and fantasy. In fact, I grew up on it, but I always thought that classic sci-fi lacked a romantic element, so I set out to add some. The Joining, like most of my stories, is a romance deeply rooted in science-fiction, rather than a science-fiction layer on top of a romantic story.

Emma: It sounds like my kind of story. I’ll have to go check it out! I don’t want to keep you too much longer, but I have to ask what we get to look forward to next.

Masha: I'm working on a second Muse story. Urania will be faced with another challenge, and more threats to Mortal Earth. It will be a sequel of sorts, in that many of the characters from the first book will return. And after that, I have plans for shape-shifters, more space-opera, and, and... I just have to look at my notes. So many stories. So little brain space. I'm hoping to offer a free read now and then, like I did last year for the Long and Short of It review site (“Unexpected Bounty”, still available in the archives).

Emma: Oooh! Thanks for the tip on the free read! Thanks so much for dropping by. Good luck on your future works!

Masha: Thank you very much for inviting me. I enjoyed our visit. Please stop by my website at http://mashaholl.com or visit my blog at http://alienplaces.blogspot.com/. And don't forget my online workshops. I have more information about them at http://ottercreations.mashaholl.com.