A.E. Rayne's Blog
February 3, 2020
So, I wrote a new book. A prequel novella.
Hello!
After finishing Vale of the Gods, I had an immediate urge to turn back the clock. As an author, it’s quite hard to kill off some of your characters. Some, you take pleasure in (we can probably agree on who those might be!), but others affect you (still do). I really debated the end of Vale of the Gods, and half wondered if I should go back in, tweak it, and make myself cry less! But, of course, I knew it ended as it was meant to, and, just like life, there’s often a helping of heartbreak with the joy.
Still, that didn’t stop me from hopping into my time machine and heading back to just before Winter’s Fury began, when everything was so calm and quiet, and there was no trouble on the horizon at all…
Ummm, well no, perhaps that’s not entirely true.
I’ve attached the Kings of Fate blurb below to give you a taster.
I hope you enjoy it!
Amy
x
-------------------------------
Lothar the Usurper has stolen his brother’s throne. And now he squats upon it, thinking of how to get rid of his troublesome niece, Jael Furyck. Brekka’s most famous warrior. The one they thought would be queen after her father’s death.
Her presence hangs over him like an axe. A constant threat to his ambitions which stretch far beyond his already generous borders.
But when an unexpected visitor arrives in Andala, Lothar discovers a way to hurt Jael without ever getting his greedy hands dirty…
Across the Nebbar Straights, Eirik Skalleson must find his son a wife to secure the future of his kingdom, but Eadmund has ruined everything he has tried so far.
And now there is a woman, the daughter of an Alekkan lord.
A flame-haired, freckle-nosed, smiling woman. Perfect in every way. And yet Eirik’s dreamer daughter is worried.
Trouble, she says.
The woman is going to cause trouble…
After finishing Vale of the Gods, I had an immediate urge to turn back the clock. As an author, it’s quite hard to kill off some of your characters. Some, you take pleasure in (we can probably agree on who those might be!), but others affect you (still do). I really debated the end of Vale of the Gods, and half wondered if I should go back in, tweak it, and make myself cry less! But, of course, I knew it ended as it was meant to, and, just like life, there’s often a helping of heartbreak with the joy.
Still, that didn’t stop me from hopping into my time machine and heading back to just before Winter’s Fury began, when everything was so calm and quiet, and there was no trouble on the horizon at all…
Ummm, well no, perhaps that’s not entirely true.
I’ve attached the Kings of Fate blurb below to give you a taster.
I hope you enjoy it!
Amy
x
-------------------------------
Lothar the Usurper has stolen his brother’s throne. And now he squats upon it, thinking of how to get rid of his troublesome niece, Jael Furyck. Brekka’s most famous warrior. The one they thought would be queen after her father’s death.
Her presence hangs over him like an axe. A constant threat to his ambitions which stretch far beyond his already generous borders.
But when an unexpected visitor arrives in Andala, Lothar discovers a way to hurt Jael without ever getting his greedy hands dirty…
Across the Nebbar Straights, Eirik Skalleson must find his son a wife to secure the future of his kingdom, but Eadmund has ruined everything he has tried so far.
And now there is a woman, the daughter of an Alekkan lord.
A flame-haired, freckle-nosed, smiling woman. Perfect in every way. And yet Eirik’s dreamer daughter is worried.
Trouble, she says.
The woman is going to cause trouble…
November 17, 2019
Vale of the Gods: New Excerpt [Spoiler]
Hello!
1992 was the year I created Jael and Eadmund. And 1992 was the last time I saw U2 in concert. And this weekend, I finally saw U2 again, and in two weeks, I come to the end of Jael and Eadmund’s long journey. Feels kind of fitting really.
I’m getting so excited about the launch – I really want to know what you all think! – so here’s a little excerpt to wet your whistle. I tried to find a non-spoilery one for those of you who aren’t Vale of the Gods ready, but in the end, I decided, nah, just get reading. You don’t have long!
Amy
x
PS: Quick programming note… I’ve changed the spelling of Dala, to Daala. I’ll be retroactively fixing this is in all the books soon, just in case you wonder ‘who the heck is that?’
----------------------------------------------
Spinning around suddenly, Jael saw Fyr watching her from the end of the bed. It was becoming less shocking to see the raven now. More comforting. ‘Thanks to you,’ she mumbled, turning away to pull her swordbelt out from under the bed. ‘Thanks to you, I don’t have to feel like Thorgils today.’ And sitting up, she came face to face with a woman standing in the corner by her bed, draped in a shimmering black cloak, her long white hair almost touching the ground.
Daala, Mother of the Tuuran Gods.
She had come to Jael the night of the barsk attack, warned her then.
Daala stepped towards the bed. ‘What happened yesterday…’ Her distress gave her voice a heaviness, a weight she had not felt in centuries. If ever. ‘It was a change, Jael. For all of us. We must protect ourselves now. My gods, Vidar’s… we must hide.’
Jael, wondered if she was dreaming. She moved her right hand to Toothpick’s pommel, wanting to feel some certainty in what she was seeing. ‘I… you saved me. Us. You helped. You protected us against Draguta.’
‘As Fyr?’ Daala barely blinked. ‘I did what I could in the moment, and so did Edela. Her and the Book of Aurea, which, thankfully, has had enough answers up until now.’
Jael frowned, worried for her grandmother. ‘Won’t Draguta try again? To take it?’
Daala clasped her hands in front of her cloak. ‘Draguta no longer feels constrained. She has much that makes her powerful in her own right. Perhaps she has no need to fear the Book of Aurea any longer?’
‘But how do we stop her, then? She’s going to pick us off, one by one, isn’t she? Until there’s just me standing.’
‘She wants you, yes. You are the symbol of all that she despises. You and Eadmund. Because you are ours. Our weapons. She will pit you against each other until one of you kills the other. Then she will claim victory. Victory over the gods, the Furycks, and Osterland. We will all be hers.’
Jael’s mouth hung open in surprise. ‘You see this happening?’
‘That is what Draguta believes will happen.’
‘I have no magic,’ Jael tried. ‘No way to stop her. My sword…’
Hearing a noise, Daala spun towards the tent flap, and when she turned back, Jael could see that her face had softened. ‘There came a time when I realised that to save everyone, I had to kill my husband.’
Jael froze.
‘It was something I avoided for longer than I should have,’ Daala admitted. ‘I had heard the rumours, seen some of the evidence myself, but I was not prepared to face it. I hid from my fate for a time, but eventually, I killed Raemus. I had no choice. His love for me had corrupted him. His obsession with the Darkness had destroyed him. Killing him was the only way to save everyone else.’
‘But Eadmund isn’t corrupt. He’s bound to Draguta, a prisoner. We can help him. I don’t have to kill him.’
Daala held out a hand, helping Jael to her feet. ‘That may be so. For your sake, Jael, I hope it is. But I came to tell you how it feels to be faced with that very choice. Your husband or your people? Who will you save? When the time comes, who will you save?’ She watched Jael’s eyes working hard to avoid hers, worrying for a moment that Jael Furyck was not who they had always believed she would become. ‘Eadmund is lost. Perhaps you will find him again? Perhaps his sister will? Or it may be that he is Draguta’s forever. Time will tell, Jael. I will be with you until the end. I will not retreat from this fight, and nor can you. Not now.’
Jael shivered, seeing the times Eadmund had looked straight through her; the memories of him with Evaine; the nights in Eirik’s hot pool; sitting outside Ketil’s, listening to Thorgils’ terrible jokes.
Closing her eyes, she tried to hold onto the image of his smiling face, and when she opened them, Aleksander was there, light streaming through the tent opening.
‘Jael? Are you alright?’
She stared at him, her memories slipping away.
Just as Daala had.
She nodded quickly. ‘I am.’
------------------------------------
1992 was the year I created Jael and Eadmund. And 1992 was the last time I saw U2 in concert. And this weekend, I finally saw U2 again, and in two weeks, I come to the end of Jael and Eadmund’s long journey. Feels kind of fitting really.
I’m getting so excited about the launch – I really want to know what you all think! – so here’s a little excerpt to wet your whistle. I tried to find a non-spoilery one for those of you who aren’t Vale of the Gods ready, but in the end, I decided, nah, just get reading. You don’t have long!
Amy
x
PS: Quick programming note… I’ve changed the spelling of Dala, to Daala. I’ll be retroactively fixing this is in all the books soon, just in case you wonder ‘who the heck is that?’
----------------------------------------------
Spinning around suddenly, Jael saw Fyr watching her from the end of the bed. It was becoming less shocking to see the raven now. More comforting. ‘Thanks to you,’ she mumbled, turning away to pull her swordbelt out from under the bed. ‘Thanks to you, I don’t have to feel like Thorgils today.’ And sitting up, she came face to face with a woman standing in the corner by her bed, draped in a shimmering black cloak, her long white hair almost touching the ground.
Daala, Mother of the Tuuran Gods.
She had come to Jael the night of the barsk attack, warned her then.
Daala stepped towards the bed. ‘What happened yesterday…’ Her distress gave her voice a heaviness, a weight she had not felt in centuries. If ever. ‘It was a change, Jael. For all of us. We must protect ourselves now. My gods, Vidar’s… we must hide.’
Jael, wondered if she was dreaming. She moved her right hand to Toothpick’s pommel, wanting to feel some certainty in what she was seeing. ‘I… you saved me. Us. You helped. You protected us against Draguta.’
‘As Fyr?’ Daala barely blinked. ‘I did what I could in the moment, and so did Edela. Her and the Book of Aurea, which, thankfully, has had enough answers up until now.’
Jael frowned, worried for her grandmother. ‘Won’t Draguta try again? To take it?’
Daala clasped her hands in front of her cloak. ‘Draguta no longer feels constrained. She has much that makes her powerful in her own right. Perhaps she has no need to fear the Book of Aurea any longer?’
‘But how do we stop her, then? She’s going to pick us off, one by one, isn’t she? Until there’s just me standing.’
‘She wants you, yes. You are the symbol of all that she despises. You and Eadmund. Because you are ours. Our weapons. She will pit you against each other until one of you kills the other. Then she will claim victory. Victory over the gods, the Furycks, and Osterland. We will all be hers.’
Jael’s mouth hung open in surprise. ‘You see this happening?’
‘That is what Draguta believes will happen.’
‘I have no magic,’ Jael tried. ‘No way to stop her. My sword…’
Hearing a noise, Daala spun towards the tent flap, and when she turned back, Jael could see that her face had softened. ‘There came a time when I realised that to save everyone, I had to kill my husband.’
Jael froze.
‘It was something I avoided for longer than I should have,’ Daala admitted. ‘I had heard the rumours, seen some of the evidence myself, but I was not prepared to face it. I hid from my fate for a time, but eventually, I killed Raemus. I had no choice. His love for me had corrupted him. His obsession with the Darkness had destroyed him. Killing him was the only way to save everyone else.’
‘But Eadmund isn’t corrupt. He’s bound to Draguta, a prisoner. We can help him. I don’t have to kill him.’
Daala held out a hand, helping Jael to her feet. ‘That may be so. For your sake, Jael, I hope it is. But I came to tell you how it feels to be faced with that very choice. Your husband or your people? Who will you save? When the time comes, who will you save?’ She watched Jael’s eyes working hard to avoid hers, worrying for a moment that Jael Furyck was not who they had always believed she would become. ‘Eadmund is lost. Perhaps you will find him again? Perhaps his sister will? Or it may be that he is Draguta’s forever. Time will tell, Jael. I will be with you until the end. I will not retreat from this fight, and nor can you. Not now.’
Jael shivered, seeing the times Eadmund had looked straight through her; the memories of him with Evaine; the nights in Eirik’s hot pool; sitting outside Ketil’s, listening to Thorgils’ terrible jokes.
Closing her eyes, she tried to hold onto the image of his smiling face, and when she opened them, Aleksander was there, light streaming through the tent opening.
‘Jael? Are you alright?’
She stared at him, her memories slipping away.
Just as Daala had.
She nodded quickly. ‘I am.’
------------------------------------
October 18, 2019
What comes next?
Hello!
I’d love to report that I’ve been trekking around Iceland or exploring the Faroe Islands, or shopping in Stockholm – all on my wishlist! – but no, I’ve been editing. Which, I have to admit, despite the lack of variety, is quite rewarding. And I’m still finding joy in what I’ve written after going through it oodles of times. I still get tears in my eyes. Still laugh out loud – usually because of Thorgils. It feels like the best place to be, in Brekka, with my characters, before I say goodbye to them.
For a while.
So, I’m writing today to let you know what’s coming next.
I will deliver Vale of the Gods in late November, then head straight into writing a short prequel, which I hope to release by the end of the year. And then I’ll begin writing a brand new series with brand new characters to be released in 2020. I have it in mind already and am fleshing it out in those few minutes of free brain space I get each night before I fall asleep! The new series will be set in the same world, but in a different place, with new people to discover. Hopefully, we’ll all come to love and loathe them too.
Will I return to Osterland and the Slave Islands? Yes.
Yes!
Yes!
Not sure how or when but most definitely. My heart is there.
So when it’s time, I will go home.
Until next time I pop my head up,
Amy
x
I’d love to report that I’ve been trekking around Iceland or exploring the Faroe Islands, or shopping in Stockholm – all on my wishlist! – but no, I’ve been editing. Which, I have to admit, despite the lack of variety, is quite rewarding. And I’m still finding joy in what I’ve written after going through it oodles of times. I still get tears in my eyes. Still laugh out loud – usually because of Thorgils. It feels like the best place to be, in Brekka, with my characters, before I say goodbye to them.
For a while.
So, I’m writing today to let you know what’s coming next.
I will deliver Vale of the Gods in late November, then head straight into writing a short prequel, which I hope to release by the end of the year. And then I’ll begin writing a brand new series with brand new characters to be released in 2020. I have it in mind already and am fleshing it out in those few minutes of free brain space I get each night before I fall asleep! The new series will be set in the same world, but in a different place, with new people to discover. Hopefully, we’ll all come to love and loathe them too.
Will I return to Osterland and the Slave Islands? Yes.
Yes!
Yes!
Not sure how or when but most definitely. My heart is there.
So when it’s time, I will go home.
Until next time I pop my head up,
Amy
x
December 4, 2018
I’ve had a few questions lately…
Hi everyone,
I’ve had a few questions lately, so I thought I’d interview myself (Oprah was not available) and give you some answers. If I’ve missed anything, let me know. Facebook or email are good ways to get in touch. I’ve been known to answer questions on Goodreads too.
Right, so here we go…
Why is Hallow Wood NOT the end of the series? Grrrrr…
I’ve had a couple of people mention this, which, I confess, did surprise me! I guess it’s all about what you enjoy as a reader and what your expectations were before you began the book. I like reading series that go on forever. Does that terrify you? Ha! But seriously, I don’t plan the books, and I haven’t mapped out the series. It unfolds organically. I can guesstimate that there might be two more books to go, but I could just as easily finish it with book 5 or go onto book 8. For all of you who want an answer, I’m sorry I can’t provide anything more definitive than that. As a ‘seat-of-the-pants’ writer, I have no expectations and no grand plans. I use the writing experience as a deep dive into the characters and their world myself, and where it ends up is quite often a shock and surprise to me, which, I must say, is part of the fun!
When is book 5 going to be released?
Mid 2019. May/June. I’m about to start writing it after a small, not-really-a-break sort of break, and I’m very interested to see what will happen. I’ve switched Osterland off for the past few weeks and when I turn it back on again, I expect to be inundated with an explosion of ideas. Can’t wait. I’ve really missed those characters.
What is the deal with Eadmund?
Everyone gets frustrated with Eadmund! I hope Hallow Wood gave you some more understanding of what’s been going on with him and why life is not as simple for him as other people. I like complex characters and Eadmund certainly is that. I’m a fixer by nature and Eadmund is the ultimate challenge for me. And Jael too. Don’t give up on him yet…!
Will your books ever be available on other platforms besides Amazon?
Not in the foreseeable future. To make your books available for Kindle Unlimited you have to be exclusive to Amazon, so for now that’s where I shall be hanging out.
What about audiobooks?
They are very much in the works, and something I’m eager to start, but at the moment it’s a matter of finding the time. It’s pencilled in for 2019, and I’m hoping to narrate them myself. At this stage…
Is Evaine going to get what she deserves?
Evaine definitely deserves a dose of something, but as I write this, I’ve no plans for her just yet. We all know that Jael would love to have a go at her. So would Fyn. Edela has a bit of revenge to dish out too! So yes, there will be something coming for Evaine…
What do you do when you’re not writing?
I am either editing or asleep. Mostly editing, wishing I was asleep.
What sort of books do you read?
I’ve not been reading as much as I’d like to (see my previous answer) but I love historical novels most of all. I like gritty battle scenes, a bit of romance and intrigue, a mystery to solve, and the longer, the better. I really like to lose myself in a world where the time is taken to develop characters and stories that make you care enough to feel a sense of loss when it’s all over. I’m about to start the Duncan M Hamilton ‘Wolf of the North’ series which is teed up on my kindle, ready to go.
Have you based any of the characters on people you know in real life?
My husband asked me this question, I think with a view to discovering which character I’ve based on him. His fear is that it’s Haaron Dragos! The answer, though, is no, not really. I know a very lovely head-tapper who inspired Meena. My Swedish grandmother was the general inspiration for Edela, and Jael is very much my alter ego, but the rest are just my own creations, patchworked together with a mix of observation and imagination. I love watching people, and I’m fascinated by body language, so I’m always soaking up little oddities that I add to my characters to flesh them out in a way that’s hopefully interesting and relatable.
And now, onwards to book 5…
Wish me luck!
Amy
x
I’ve had a few questions lately, so I thought I’d interview myself (Oprah was not available) and give you some answers. If I’ve missed anything, let me know. Facebook or email are good ways to get in touch. I’ve been known to answer questions on Goodreads too.
Right, so here we go…
Why is Hallow Wood NOT the end of the series? Grrrrr…
I’ve had a couple of people mention this, which, I confess, did surprise me! I guess it’s all about what you enjoy as a reader and what your expectations were before you began the book. I like reading series that go on forever. Does that terrify you? Ha! But seriously, I don’t plan the books, and I haven’t mapped out the series. It unfolds organically. I can guesstimate that there might be two more books to go, but I could just as easily finish it with book 5 or go onto book 8. For all of you who want an answer, I’m sorry I can’t provide anything more definitive than that. As a ‘seat-of-the-pants’ writer, I have no expectations and no grand plans. I use the writing experience as a deep dive into the characters and their world myself, and where it ends up is quite often a shock and surprise to me, which, I must say, is part of the fun!
When is book 5 going to be released?
Mid 2019. May/June. I’m about to start writing it after a small, not-really-a-break sort of break, and I’m very interested to see what will happen. I’ve switched Osterland off for the past few weeks and when I turn it back on again, I expect to be inundated with an explosion of ideas. Can’t wait. I’ve really missed those characters.
What is the deal with Eadmund?
Everyone gets frustrated with Eadmund! I hope Hallow Wood gave you some more understanding of what’s been going on with him and why life is not as simple for him as other people. I like complex characters and Eadmund certainly is that. I’m a fixer by nature and Eadmund is the ultimate challenge for me. And Jael too. Don’t give up on him yet…!
Will your books ever be available on other platforms besides Amazon?
Not in the foreseeable future. To make your books available for Kindle Unlimited you have to be exclusive to Amazon, so for now that’s where I shall be hanging out.
What about audiobooks?
They are very much in the works, and something I’m eager to start, but at the moment it’s a matter of finding the time. It’s pencilled in for 2019, and I’m hoping to narrate them myself. At this stage…
Is Evaine going to get what she deserves?
Evaine definitely deserves a dose of something, but as I write this, I’ve no plans for her just yet. We all know that Jael would love to have a go at her. So would Fyn. Edela has a bit of revenge to dish out too! So yes, there will be something coming for Evaine…
What do you do when you’re not writing?
I am either editing or asleep. Mostly editing, wishing I was asleep.
What sort of books do you read?
I’ve not been reading as much as I’d like to (see my previous answer) but I love historical novels most of all. I like gritty battle scenes, a bit of romance and intrigue, a mystery to solve, and the longer, the better. I really like to lose myself in a world where the time is taken to develop characters and stories that make you care enough to feel a sense of loss when it’s all over. I’m about to start the Duncan M Hamilton ‘Wolf of the North’ series which is teed up on my kindle, ready to go.
Have you based any of the characters on people you know in real life?
My husband asked me this question, I think with a view to discovering which character I’ve based on him. His fear is that it’s Haaron Dragos! The answer, though, is no, not really. I know a very lovely head-tapper who inspired Meena. My Swedish grandmother was the general inspiration for Edela, and Jael is very much my alter ego, but the rest are just my own creations, patchworked together with a mix of observation and imagination. I love watching people, and I’m fascinated by body language, so I’m always soaking up little oddities that I add to my characters to flesh them out in a way that’s hopefully interesting and relatable.
And now, onwards to book 5…
Wish me luck!
Amy
x
November 18, 2018
Hallow Wood, the fourth book in The Furyck Saga is out…
…and things are really starting to get interesting now. You’ll find a lot of intriguing twists and turns in this book, and a lot is also revealed, so hopefully, that will make an exciting read for you. The more I write, the more excited I tend to get, and the ending to this book is rather breathless so do allow yourself a good run at it
Now that I have a bit of free time on my hands before I start writing again, it gives me a little chance to get excited about something other than my own world of books. Here’s what I’m excited about right now:
FALLOUT ON DVD
I have just ordered Mission Impossible: Fallout on DVD. I loved that movie so much that I went back and watched every other Mission Impossible movie again. It was stunningingly good, and I still can’t get my head around the fact that Tom Cruise does his own stunts. The man has balls of steel!
OUTLANDER RETURNS
It’s back for season four! Having read all of Diana Gabaldon’s books, and having watched all three previous series, this is a treat I can’t wait to enjoy. But, I’m determined to save up as many episodes as I can and then have a binge-watch like the true fan I am!
BOOK MARATHON
My bedside table has a stack of books waiting on me, as does my kindle. First cab off the rank will be the new CJ Sansom book, Tombland. I am super excited about this book as it’s been four years since his last offering and he’s one of my favourite authors. It’ll be nice to read words that aren’t mine for a change…!
SUMMER!
That’s a weird thing for me to say. I dream of being snowed in and sitting around a roaring fire. If you’ve read my books, this will come as no surprise! But my garden has exploded with green things and the sky is bright blue and my local lake is filled with ducklings, so I’m actually excited about summer this year.
Happy reading!
Amy
Now that I have a bit of free time on my hands before I start writing again, it gives me a little chance to get excited about something other than my own world of books. Here’s what I’m excited about right now:
FALLOUT ON DVD
I have just ordered Mission Impossible: Fallout on DVD. I loved that movie so much that I went back and watched every other Mission Impossible movie again. It was stunningingly good, and I still can’t get my head around the fact that Tom Cruise does his own stunts. The man has balls of steel!
OUTLANDER RETURNS
It’s back for season four! Having read all of Diana Gabaldon’s books, and having watched all three previous series, this is a treat I can’t wait to enjoy. But, I’m determined to save up as many episodes as I can and then have a binge-watch like the true fan I am!
BOOK MARATHON
My bedside table has a stack of books waiting on me, as does my kindle. First cab off the rank will be the new CJ Sansom book, Tombland. I am super excited about this book as it’s been four years since his last offering and he’s one of my favourite authors. It’ll be nice to read words that aren’t mine for a change…!
SUMMER!
That’s a weird thing for me to say. I dream of being snowed in and sitting around a roaring fire. If you’ve read my books, this will come as no surprise! But my garden has exploded with green things and the sky is bright blue and my local lake is filled with ducklings, so I’m actually excited about summer this year.
Happy reading!
Amy
June 10, 2018
Night of the Shadow Moon – teaser
Hello!
Tomorrow marks the official start of writing book four in my Furyck Saga series. I’ve given my eyes a break over the last couple of weeks, eaten far too much chocolate, and I’m now ready to glue myself to my keyboard again. I was supposed to have plotted out what’s coming next, but as organised and geeky as I naturally am, I seem to rail against constructing a detailed outline for each book. I love a good plan, but sometimes I revel in seat-of-my-pants spontaneity, like getting married within three days of getting engaged. That’s my kind of thing (and yes, that did happen!). But at the same time, I have an overwhelming need to plan out the next five years of my life.
The curse of being a Gemini!
So, tomorrow you will find me nibbling on my barely there nails, wondering just what is going to happen next and searching for an inspiring soundtrack to get me in the mood for battles and dark magic and treacherous things. And, of course, I shall have to begin with a little refresher of how I left things in Night of the Shadow Moon…
Speaking of… want a teaser? Not a spoiler as I don’t ever want to spoil anything for those of you expectantly waiting for the book to come out next week. Yes, next week. Not long to go now!
Check it out below.
Night of the Shadow Moon (excerpt)
Tomorrow marks the official start of writing book four in my Furyck Saga series. I’ve given my eyes a break over the last couple of weeks, eaten far too much chocolate, and I’m now ready to glue myself to my keyboard again. I was supposed to have plotted out what’s coming next, but as organised and geeky as I naturally am, I seem to rail against constructing a detailed outline for each book. I love a good plan, but sometimes I revel in seat-of-my-pants spontaneity, like getting married within three days of getting engaged. That’s my kind of thing (and yes, that did happen!). But at the same time, I have an overwhelming need to plan out the next five years of my life.
The curse of being a Gemini!
So, tomorrow you will find me nibbling on my barely there nails, wondering just what is going to happen next and searching for an inspiring soundtrack to get me in the mood for battles and dark magic and treacherous things. And, of course, I shall have to begin with a little refresher of how I left things in Night of the Shadow Moon…
Speaking of… want a teaser? Not a spoiler as I don’t ever want to spoil anything for those of you expectantly waiting for the book to come out next week. Yes, next week. Not long to go now!
Check it out below.
Night of the Shadow Moon (excerpt)
‘And?’ Jaeger hovered impatiently behind Morana as she sat at his table, pouring over the book.
Morana spun around, whipping him with her hair. ‘You must decide what you want. This book is powerful, and with it, you can create true destruction. But what is it that you wish to achieve first?’
Jaeger had thought that it would be obvious, but her question gave him pause. He walked towards the window, peering down to Hest’s charred harbour. The harbour with no ships. No piers.
He thought of his father. His brothers.
His wife.
‘I want to be king here,’ he said, turning around. ‘I cannot do anything until I am.’
‘You want to kill your father? Kill your brothers?’ Morana laughed. ‘You do not need this book for such insignificance. You can do that in many ways that require no magic at all!’
Jaeger frowned and walked back towards the table, leaning over the book.
‘You must desire more than that? Surely?’ she wondered carefully. ‘This book did not seek you out because you are a man of small ambition. A man meant to become just another forgotten Dragos prince. This book was meant for one worthy of its true, horrible darkness.’
Jaeger felt a violent throbbing in his chest, jerking in his limbs. The book was calling to him, drawing him in, demanding more of him.
Challenging him.
He cocked his head to one side. ‘What are you suggesting?’
‘You can become king here easily enough, but you must seek more for yourself and this kingdom. You must seek the destruction of all others so that Hest becomes the only kingdom in this land.’ Morana’s eyes were dark as she inhaled the ancient power of the book herself. ‘You have enemies, the ones who stole your wife, who humiliated you, burned your ships, cut your ankles, hurt your brothers. You must crush them all. But especially…’ Morana stopped and stared at Jaeger, ensuring he heard this most of all.
He wasn’t even breathing as he lost himself in her hypnotic eyes. ‘Especially?’
‘Especially, Jael Furyck. She is the one who will stand between you and all that you dream of. She is the one you must kill. For if she lives, you will not.’
April 24, 2018
The author, on holiday
Hello!
Work-life balance for me is usually work-work balance, so it was with immense trepidation that I embarked on a holiday last week. I am not an unwinder. I find it impossible to stop thinking and doing, which makes me generally quite productive but thoroughly annoying to hang out with.
My holidays are usually go-go-go breaks, where it’s all about entertaining my children; running around after them, trying to keep the peace while avoiding the inevitable meltdown. Any thoughts of a little contemplative sightseeing or shopping that doesn’t involve a Lego store, go right out the window and my husband and I return home wrecked and dreaming of an actual holiday. So, I was a little nervous taking a trip to a resort where the only thing to do was nothing… just sit and swim and eat and drink and sleep.
And you know what… I did all of those things, and it was amazing. My children were content to splash about in the pool all day and only required to be fed at regular intervals and put to bed for a long sleep. And I got to listen to podcasts, read a book or two, and stuff my face with too many helpings of hot chips, all the while lying by the pool.
Who knew relaxing could actually be so… relaxing?
Work-life balance for me is usually work-work balance, so it was with immense trepidation that I embarked on a holiday last week. I am not an unwinder. I find it impossible to stop thinking and doing, which makes me generally quite productive but thoroughly annoying to hang out with.
My holidays are usually go-go-go breaks, where it’s all about entertaining my children; running around after them, trying to keep the peace while avoiding the inevitable meltdown. Any thoughts of a little contemplative sightseeing or shopping that doesn’t involve a Lego store, go right out the window and my husband and I return home wrecked and dreaming of an actual holiday. So, I was a little nervous taking a trip to a resort where the only thing to do was nothing… just sit and swim and eat and drink and sleep.
And you know what… I did all of those things, and it was amazing. My children were content to splash about in the pool all day and only required to be fed at regular intervals and put to bed for a long sleep. And I got to listen to podcasts, read a book or two, and stuff my face with too many helpings of hot chips, all the while lying by the pool.
Who knew relaxing could actually be so… relaxing?
April 18, 2018
Night of the Shadow Moon
Hello!
Well, technically tonight is the night of the ‘super blue blood moon’ (which took a long time to explain to my children this morning, who couldn’t quite understand why a blue moon would be red!), but the title of this post is actually the title of my new book!
So, as not to confuse you, coming mid-2018, look out on Amazon for Night of the Shadow Moon. Tonight, look out your window for the ‘super blue blood moon’!
I’m not a stay-up-late sort of person, but such an exciting night sky event hasn’t occurred for over 150 years, so I do feel a certain responsibility to pry my eyelids open long enough to witness it, perhaps with the help of a hot chocolate or two? With that sort of incentive, I may just manage it!
So, yes, book three is sitting on my computer, ready for stage two, which in our house is called, Goodbye Mum. That’s when I shut my office door and emerge three months later with more grey hair and wrinkles and a book that’s ready to publish! The editing process is long and not as much fun as the writing process, I admit, but they’re both just as important in producing something that’s enjoyable and exciting to read.
This is the third book in my Furyck Saga series, and as usual, I have written it by the seat of my pants. My husband/marketing guru guy tells me that it’s an official thing to be a ‘pantser’, which is someone, like me, who just goes for it, sans outline, with no idea how things will end up. And I confess that I literally had no idea where it would all go until the last few pages of the book, where it all came together (thank goodness!). It was a lot of fun, and I’m already thinking about what it means for book number four!
But first… all that editing and a moony inspired cover to design.
Next time I’ll give you a preview of what’s coming in Night of the Shadow Moon. So, if you haven’t finished Winter’s Fury and The Burning Sea yet, come on, get reading!
And happy moon watching tonight.
x
Well, technically tonight is the night of the ‘super blue blood moon’ (which took a long time to explain to my children this morning, who couldn’t quite understand why a blue moon would be red!), but the title of this post is actually the title of my new book!
So, as not to confuse you, coming mid-2018, look out on Amazon for Night of the Shadow Moon. Tonight, look out your window for the ‘super blue blood moon’!
I’m not a stay-up-late sort of person, but such an exciting night sky event hasn’t occurred for over 150 years, so I do feel a certain responsibility to pry my eyelids open long enough to witness it, perhaps with the help of a hot chocolate or two? With that sort of incentive, I may just manage it!
So, yes, book three is sitting on my computer, ready for stage two, which in our house is called, Goodbye Mum. That’s when I shut my office door and emerge three months later with more grey hair and wrinkles and a book that’s ready to publish! The editing process is long and not as much fun as the writing process, I admit, but they’re both just as important in producing something that’s enjoyable and exciting to read.
This is the third book in my Furyck Saga series, and as usual, I have written it by the seat of my pants. My husband/marketing guru guy tells me that it’s an official thing to be a ‘pantser’, which is someone, like me, who just goes for it, sans outline, with no idea how things will end up. And I confess that I literally had no idea where it would all go until the last few pages of the book, where it all came together (thank goodness!). It was a lot of fun, and I’m already thinking about what it means for book number four!
But first… all that editing and a moony inspired cover to design.
Next time I’ll give you a preview of what’s coming in Night of the Shadow Moon. So, if you haven’t finished Winter’s Fury and The Burning Sea yet, come on, get reading!
And happy moon watching tonight.
x
January 18, 2018
Hello, 2018!
Here we are, halfway through January and it feels as though the year is already racing away. Is that getting older, I wonder? Does time have a way of doubling down as you get more years under your belt? I remember being ten-years-old and thinking that I would never be a teenager. Yet now it feels as though it was only yesterday that I was 30, not 14 years ago!! Perhaps it’s motherhood? It feels as though my children have turned from toddlers to pre-teens in the blink of an eye. Maybe it’s because childhood is all-encompassing, with so many milestones to reach and pass that we simply don’t notice our own years ticking along beside those rapidly developing mini-mes. Until we look in the mirror that is. Then it is all too apparent that we are no longer 30!
But, despite the multiplying wrinkles, I don’t think age matters as much as what you do with the time you have. You can live a long life and achieve very little or, alternately, you can have a brief cameo of a life and make every moment count. An abundance of time is only useful if you utilise it. But it’s not always something you realise, which is why I’m trying to use the new year period to pause and refocus. To break old habits and try to foster new ones. To start living in the now, focusing less on living in the ‘when’… when I make that money, or build that house, lose that weight, buy that 1967 Mustang (a girl’s gotta dream!).
I’ve become news obsessed lately, and a lot of it makes for sad reading. Families killed in car crashes, children being murdered, natural disasters, oppression, terrorism. It can be a random and terrifying world, but as upsetting and disturbing as the news often is, it’s also a reaffirmation of the fact that life is ultimately temporary. Most of us wake up every day assuming that it will be much like the last, not expecting that this is the day we or someone we love will die. So, it’s easy to fall into habits and routines that feel redundant and unexciting, where we rush past the weekdays and focus on a weekend. Or even hurry past the weeks entirely and look forward to our next holiday or major life event. We wait for the exciting, big ticket items and forget about the small moments we could turn from the ordinary into the memorable. Like sitting outside when your neighbourhood is quiet, watching as the sky turns to dusk, then darkness, and the stars start to emerge, one by one. Or deciding that instead of working, you’ll sneak off to a movie with your partner, or lie down on the floor and play Lego with your kids, or pick up the raggedy-eared toy that’s been dropped at your feet countless times, and actually go into the backyard and throw it for your poor, neglected dogs!
You only need to take the smallest steps. Because each one of those steps makes up a life.
And we can all choose to make the most of it, no matter how much time we have left.
http://aerayne.com/a-sky-of-stars/
But, despite the multiplying wrinkles, I don’t think age matters as much as what you do with the time you have. You can live a long life and achieve very little or, alternately, you can have a brief cameo of a life and make every moment count. An abundance of time is only useful if you utilise it. But it’s not always something you realise, which is why I’m trying to use the new year period to pause and refocus. To break old habits and try to foster new ones. To start living in the now, focusing less on living in the ‘when’… when I make that money, or build that house, lose that weight, buy that 1967 Mustang (a girl’s gotta dream!).
I’ve become news obsessed lately, and a lot of it makes for sad reading. Families killed in car crashes, children being murdered, natural disasters, oppression, terrorism. It can be a random and terrifying world, but as upsetting and disturbing as the news often is, it’s also a reaffirmation of the fact that life is ultimately temporary. Most of us wake up every day assuming that it will be much like the last, not expecting that this is the day we or someone we love will die. So, it’s easy to fall into habits and routines that feel redundant and unexciting, where we rush past the weekdays and focus on a weekend. Or even hurry past the weeks entirely and look forward to our next holiday or major life event. We wait for the exciting, big ticket items and forget about the small moments we could turn from the ordinary into the memorable. Like sitting outside when your neighbourhood is quiet, watching as the sky turns to dusk, then darkness, and the stars start to emerge, one by one. Or deciding that instead of working, you’ll sneak off to a movie with your partner, or lie down on the floor and play Lego with your kids, or pick up the raggedy-eared toy that’s been dropped at your feet countless times, and actually go into the backyard and throw it for your poor, neglected dogs!
You only need to take the smallest steps. Because each one of those steps makes up a life.
And we can all choose to make the most of it, no matter how much time we have left.
http://aerayne.com/a-sky-of-stars/
Jael Furyck has a Namesake
Hello, from a very warm Auckland!
Summer has come to these parts with a short-wearing shock, and my dreams of cold weather have retreated along with my hot water bottles and faux fur throws. Until April, at least.
I’ve had a few questions this week about Jael Furyck, my heroine in Winter's Fury and The Burning Sea . As in, ‘how do you pronounce her name?’ and ‘where did it come from?’
Well, first up, I pronounce it ‘jail’.
And as to where did her name come from...
Being a history mad kid, I grew up fascinated by a family tree that hung in our house. I was so attached to it that hangs in my own house now. I loved reading all the carefully written names, imagining the sort of lives my ancestors led; the sort of places they lived and travelled to, the world events they were caught up in. But one name in particular always stood out: Jael Godolphin Boscawen. I don’t know why, but her name evoked thoughts of adventure and excitement. It was an exotic sounding name in a world of Annes and Marys. Surely she was an interesting woman?
I decided that Jael would be the perfect name for the character in the new story I was creating. That was so many years ago now, and Jael has been in my head for longer than she hasn’t. And despite being connected physically and literally to two Jael’s, I wasn’t sure they had anything in common at all until I recently did a little bit of internetting.
Jael Goldophin was born in 1647, during the English Civil War. She was the daughter of an English nobleman and politician who was a Royalist. He actually had the lease on the Scilly Isles. As you do. Always wanted to go there! She married another politician, Edward Boscawen, who came from an ancient Cornish family of copper miners and together they had six children, three who survived, and one who actually married an author, Sir John Evelyn.
There’s nothing much to be found about her actual life bar what is revealed on her memorial stone which hangs in St Mary Abotts Parish Church in Kensington. It alludes to an interesting woman who stands out as someone who was ‘adorned with rare faculties of the mind, singular acuteness, sagacity and judgement,’ ‘candor’. Someone who was ‘beloved, admired, revered by all.’ So, it seems that Jael’s namesake was respected as a woman who had a good brain and was public about her use of it, so much so that it was one of the things remembered about her after her death. And in a time when women of a certain class were praised and admired for their gentle, agreeable femininity as they embroidered and gave birth and hosted parties, it sounds as though Jael Godolphin Boscawen stood out and was not afraid to.
I like the sound of that.
I actually visited the place of her birth, Godolphin House, in Godolphin, Cornwall 11 years ago (yes, that’s me in the photo with my tourist bag!).
It’s a beautiful part of a beautiful part of England, and I thoroughly recommend a visit.
So, there you go, there was a real Jael out there. Not quite the one I write about, but both Jael’s are a part of me in a small way, and I’m equally proud to be connected to both of them!
you can see the images related to this post here: http://aerayne.com/jael-furyck-has-a-...
Summer has come to these parts with a short-wearing shock, and my dreams of cold weather have retreated along with my hot water bottles and faux fur throws. Until April, at least.
I’ve had a few questions this week about Jael Furyck, my heroine in Winter's Fury and The Burning Sea . As in, ‘how do you pronounce her name?’ and ‘where did it come from?’
Well, first up, I pronounce it ‘jail’.
And as to where did her name come from...
Being a history mad kid, I grew up fascinated by a family tree that hung in our house. I was so attached to it that hangs in my own house now. I loved reading all the carefully written names, imagining the sort of lives my ancestors led; the sort of places they lived and travelled to, the world events they were caught up in. But one name in particular always stood out: Jael Godolphin Boscawen. I don’t know why, but her name evoked thoughts of adventure and excitement. It was an exotic sounding name in a world of Annes and Marys. Surely she was an interesting woman?
I decided that Jael would be the perfect name for the character in the new story I was creating. That was so many years ago now, and Jael has been in my head for longer than she hasn’t. And despite being connected physically and literally to two Jael’s, I wasn’t sure they had anything in common at all until I recently did a little bit of internetting.
Jael Goldophin was born in 1647, during the English Civil War. She was the daughter of an English nobleman and politician who was a Royalist. He actually had the lease on the Scilly Isles. As you do. Always wanted to go there! She married another politician, Edward Boscawen, who came from an ancient Cornish family of copper miners and together they had six children, three who survived, and one who actually married an author, Sir John Evelyn.
There’s nothing much to be found about her actual life bar what is revealed on her memorial stone which hangs in St Mary Abotts Parish Church in Kensington. It alludes to an interesting woman who stands out as someone who was ‘adorned with rare faculties of the mind, singular acuteness, sagacity and judgement,’ ‘candor’. Someone who was ‘beloved, admired, revered by all.’ So, it seems that Jael’s namesake was respected as a woman who had a good brain and was public about her use of it, so much so that it was one of the things remembered about her after her death. And in a time when women of a certain class were praised and admired for their gentle, agreeable femininity as they embroidered and gave birth and hosted parties, it sounds as though Jael Godolphin Boscawen stood out and was not afraid to.
I like the sound of that.
I actually visited the place of her birth, Godolphin House, in Godolphin, Cornwall 11 years ago (yes, that’s me in the photo with my tourist bag!).
It’s a beautiful part of a beautiful part of England, and I thoroughly recommend a visit.
So, there you go, there was a real Jael out there. Not quite the one I write about, but both Jael’s are a part of me in a small way, and I’m equally proud to be connected to both of them!
you can see the images related to this post here: http://aerayne.com/jael-furyck-has-a-...
