This is my stop during the blog tour for Mother of Wolves by J Aislynn d'Merricksson. This blog tour is organized by Lola's Blog Tours. The blog tour runs from 22 May till 11 June. See the tour schedule here
Mother of Wolves (Evalyce Worldshaper #1)By J Aislynn d'Merricksson
Genre: Sci-fi/ fantasy/ arcanepunk
Age category: Adult
Release Date: July 2, 2015
Blurb:
It is a year of awakening and change for Kalla kyl’Solidor - the Wolf Who Sleeps. After a fire wyvern attacks her home, she sets on a harsh path to self-discovery.
With the future of their world at stake, Kalla and her magister embark on a journey that will shake the foundations of De Sikkari and shape their destiny.
From the depths of Xibalba to the plains of Arkkadia, and the soaring heights of the sky continent of Argoth, they journey to claim their rightful place in the world, and to put an end to the source of the destruction before chaos claims the realm.
Book 1 of 4 in the Evalyce: Worldshaper series
You can find Mother of Wolves on Goodreads
You can buy Mother of Wolves here on Amazon
Excerpt 2
Vander stopped before her and she looked up at him. The War Mage's
face was flushed, and his lips were pulled back, baring his long
carnassial teeth. At his sides, his hands were clenched tight. Madness
glittered in his icy eyes.
Close enough... Kalla lunged, latching onto his wrist. Vander tried to
jerk away, but she'd already sent her power racing through him,
freezing his lungs. A look of surprise crossed his face. As he sank to
the ground a cold voice slithered through her mind.
G o ahead... end it... this one is of no use to me anymore... Go ahead.
Kill him. You know you want to...
Kalla frowned, gazing into Vander's now frightened blue eyes as he
slowly suffocated. Yes... she could finish it. There wasn't anything he
could do. She could implode his heart, fry his brain, or simply wait until
things stopped working on their own, and there wasn't a single thing he
could do about it. The cold look on her face was enough to drain the
fear from his eyes, replacing it with a look of utter hopelessness. His
ears wilted and his eyes fluttered shut, unable to face her empty
indifference. He lifted his chin, twisting his head around so that he
was almost facing over his shoulder. Kalla finally realized what it meant.
It was the gesture of a submissive wolf to one more dominant, baring
the throat in an act of silent supplication.
As his life began to fade, images came to the Healer's mind, much
as they might when a serious Healing was undertaken. A tiny child, the
seventh son in the family, and the only one not born with a twin. Not
only that but to be born scrawny and thin and oh so different, with his
odd red hair.
A young boy, four years old, beaten half to death for not being
strong enough or fast enough. And always the reminder that he 'didn't
belong'. The same boy, age nine, with two magi. He had the gift, surely
his family would be proud. They weren't. The father was willing to pay
to have the 'little freak' taken away. More memories followed, tracing
his life to present day.
The lifetime lasted a mere heartbeat before another mind tore
through hers in an explosion of power. It wiped away all traces of the
insidious voice urging her to kill the War Mage.
Let him go. Let him live.
About the Author:Allemerra! That’s ‘hello’ in Argosian. Argoth is one of the countries of the world of De Sikkari, where my Evalyce novels take place. It is a vibrant world, as real to me as the mundane world here. The ‘J’ in my name stands for Julianna, but I prefer Aislynn.
I have a degree in anthropology you see. I approach my writing from the viewpoint of an anthropologist. My sister calls me a ‘biblioanthropologist’. I like the word. It fits perfectly! What are writers but consummate anthropologists? Writers must employ the skills of the ethnographer, the cultural anthropologist, the archaeologist, the linguist, and sometimes even the psychologist and the naturalist in order to weave their stories. I do not craft this world. I merely found the key to it and happen to have the skills (and courage) to share it with others.
I was destined for a career in forensic anthropology. A medical issue thwarted those plans and I ended up with a bachelor’s in archaeology, and later a master’s and a doctorate in philosophy. Along the crooked path away from what I found familiar, and into the unknown, I discovered a knack for poetry, and a gift for writing. I’ve honed these raw skills to something worth sharing, and found the key to a world I’ve fallen in love with.
There was a decade-long love affair with teaching, in which I crafted many of my own classes related to mythic studies, anthropology, archaeology, and ethics. My favourite class crafting was for an intro to mythology class. I did not want a boring listing such as Intro to Mythology. So…. I tweeted several famous people, authors, actors, and the like, the question- what would you name a class on mythology if you wanted to be creative. The last person I ever expected to respond was Mark Sheppard (Crowley on Supernatural. His response was ‘Bob’. So I took the challenge, and in the end, I had a class called BoB, a gift from the King of Hell. The full name was Blessing of Bragi, Bragi being the poet and keeper of stories in Norse mythology.
An observant person may notice that my eyes are heterochromatic. One is blue and one is hazel. Now, true heterochromia is rare. In my case it is a personal choice. That medical issue was a serious one. At the age of twenty, I lost my right eye and had prosthesis put in. That gave me the opportunity to express my eccentricity and insist on an eye that was a different colour. It also forced me to confront one of my greatest fears- that of losing my eyesight altogether.
I think I have Loki to thank for that. I follow a Norse spiritual path called Rokkatru. Brother Wildfire always has lessons for me. Fun fact-Loki is also known as the Lord of Laughter. My lessons generally are to teach me to laugh at the mild or major setbacks in life. It’s a lesson I’m slowly learning.
My crooked path has led me to a wonderful home in Northern California, where I live with my sister, bond-brother, bond-mate, niece, a guinea pig, and two kitty cats. Yes, we have a large house! Sometimes it feels a little crowded, but most often it is nice to have the closeness of family.
I spend my nights as an innkeep, which usually gives me ample time to write, or to read. I love to read! I was an early reader and I always have a book with me. That’s a passion that lead me to becoming a professional book reviewer, freelancing for several review groups such as the San Francisco Book Review. Such bliss! Paid to read! What could be better?
Synmerra! That’s good-bye in Argosian :)
Feel free to stop by Port Jericho! Always happy to see new people.
www.aislynndmerricksson.com
You can find and contact J Aislynn d'Merricksson here:
- Website
- Creativia page
- Creativia Mother of Wolves
- Goodreads
- Amazon
Interview with J Aislynn d'Merricksson
1. What is your favorite part of this book and why?
Hmm, well, I'd have to say the time spent on the Kujata, and on Argoth. Arkaddia and Argoth are two of my most favourite places.
2. If you could spend time with a character from your book whom would it be? And what would you do during that day?
Well, I've spent lots of time with my main characters. From Mother of Wolves, I'd love to spend quality time with Admiral Ventaal Karlgraffsson though. I'd enjoy listening to stories of his time with the Fleet, and to take a tour of the Kujata.
3. If you could have been the author of any book ever written, which book would you choose?
The Sherlock Holmes stories. That's what I'd like to say. But then, that would have required me to be a white, male, doctor living in the Victorian era. Those were the confluence of traits needed to bring Sherlock to life, and further ensure his immortality. I am white...and a doctor, though not the right kind, but I am not male, and as much as I like reading about the Victorian era, I am under no delusions it would have been pleasant for me.
The truth is, Is want to be the author of the books that I am the author of. I love the world of De Sikkari. I don't think anyone else could have opened the door to it, no more than I could have opened the door to Middle Earth, or Vulcan, or a thousand other places.
4. Are your characters based off real people or did they all come entirely from your imagination?
Yes and no. My theory of writing is kind of different, and in part, supported by theoretical physics. Indeed, my SO and I enjoy having philosophical and scientific discussions along these lines. He happens to be a theoretical physicist.
In a multiverse, infinite permutations exist. To me, authors of fiction open doors to new worlds, to planes perhaps just next door to our own, or many removed. The mind, or spirit, can journey free of the physical body. Dreams are an example. Shamanic journeywork. Heck, to a lesser extent, that happens with meditations, or when you get really lost in a good book.
I see authors more as biblioanthropologists. It really does take skills of a cultural anthropologist, an ethnographer, a linguist, perhaps psychologist or sociologist, maybe an archaeologist, to really bring stories to life. I don't see myself as able to weave world's from nothing. I found a key, I went exploring, I met people, real people to me, in my Imagination, and I wrote down (and am still writing down!) their stories.
5. What made you want to become a writer?
It wasn't at all planned. It just sorta happened. Kinda like Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock, when he is left alone for two minutes and 'accidently’ folds a dozen fancy napkin placements.
I was supposed to be an anthropologist. I still am, just not for cultures here. Finding the key to De Sikkari likely came from being open to the strange and unusual, and to giving credence to multiverse theory. That, and being a shamanic practitioner had already predisposed me to looking for the realms beyond the physical. Loving to read also likely played a huge part. I'm still very shy to tell people I'm an author. I'm more likely to say I'm a professional book reviewer and an innkeep, before author. I'm also, I realise, more apt to choose poet over author first. I've written poetry for far longer than I've written books.
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