Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!
My guest author features on Jorie Loves A Story during #WyrdAndWonder continue today – as I like to focus each May on showcasing Indie Authors & Indie Publishers who are giving us fantastical stories we want to be reading.
I am thankful to be featuring another ‘first novel’ in a debut series – this time, it is for Indie novelists L.P. Owen whose beginning his magical journey into the world of Yggdraslia. It was through my conversation with Jennifer Silverwood during #SatBookChat wherein I first learnt about the Yggdrasil tree and the connections to Norse Mythology. Whilst I’ve been continuing my readings of Glenn Searfross’s epic novel “Cycles of Norse Mythology” (see also interview) wherein this tree also comes into focus as well.
I’ve become enchanted by Folklore & Mythology ever since I first participated in #Mythothon (@Mythothon) which is a readathon dedicated to select branches of Mythological readings wherein each reader can designate how much they want to explore out of the theme of the year. Each year, I’ve sought to seek out different authors and different styles of narrative per each mythological focus – my readings during #Mythothon combined with my quest to seek out Indie Fantasy novelists during #WyrdAndWonder alighted my path to finding today’s featured novel.
As soon as I read the premise, I had a feeling it would generate a wicked good convo for Wyrd And Wonder! I’ve been spending the month on Saturdays hosting 3x Indie Authors of Fantasy (ie. Felicity Banks (see also Review), Jennifer Silverwood (see also Review) and Owen Crane. Whilst I’ve been featuring Indie Authors on Jorie Loves A Story as well – Valerie J Mikles (see also interview), Brianna Sugalski (see also interview) and Tracy Richardson (see also interview).
I love hosting the conversations because it helps me feel a bit more rooted in the stories and I hope you’ll have the same takeaway yourself.
Brew yourself a cuppa and hug close to the convo!
Yggdraslia
Subtitle: The Book of Kyrinae
by L.P. Owen
Illustrator/Cover Designer: Fiona Jayde
The Church of Kyrinae is both law and religion to the world of Yggdraslia. However, that world is dying. Even empowered by magic relics given by the Goddess, the Clerics and Avatars of the church cannot seem to determine the cause or how to stop it. Perhaps, according to many of Yggdraslia’s citizens, they just do not care.
In this world lives Kiera Milla, and only a few days after the death of her mother, she finds herself visited by an animal messenger that throws her life upside down with magic, mystery and a responsibility far beyond what a 17 year old girl should have. With a desperate plea from the Goddess Kyrinae herself, Kiera is tasked with the impossible mission to restore the Goddess to her former glory and revive the dying lands. However, in doing so she must go against both the church’s teachings and laws. Using only her wits (or at least brute force..), the power of the relics and the help of new friends, Kiera will have to fight the world itself and its people, just to save it.
Places to find the book:
ISBN: 978-0578635477
Published by Owen Arts Publishing
on 13th February, 2020
Published by: Owen Arts Publishing
Enjoy this Extract from the novel:
She walked across the room and looked in her full-length mirror to assess the damage. She was tall, far taller than any girl she knew, and more than half the boys, so even for her full-length mirror, she had to squat to see her whole body. Her thin, lean frame was covered in bruises, not to mention a dark spot covering her left eye. However, despite her appearance, she could not help but smile. She loved to brawl, and fighting two boys at once was especially thrilling. And as bad as she looked, she knew the boys looked even worse, so she turned away from the mirror with a grin on her face. Her room was simple, a firm bed with its wooden frame a huge mess, and her dark wooden dresser full of girl’s clothes she had long since had been unable to wear. She grabbed her go-to clothes set, brown trousers that almost went past her ankles, and a short sleeve black shirt. She grabbed a brush and made some attempt to tame her wild, shoulder-length curly red hair. As always, she gave up after a few seconds, taking a few minutes instead to wash her face and teeth, then left her room and ran downstairs. Outside of the cottage her and her mother lived in, she sprinted across the bright green grass to the sheep pen. A large, fenced-in area housing a few dozen sheep, and just as Kiera thought, almost all the sheep had been sheared and the baskets full.
Available Formats: Trade Paperback and Ebook
Converse via: #Fantasy, #YAFantasy
as well as #LoveBooksTours & #WyrdAndWonder
I’m a co-host for @WyrdAndWonder – a month-long Fantasy event in which I am featuring your lovely novel “Yggdraslia” – how would you classify the world-building in your Fantasy story for those enthused readers who appreciate magic, magical relics and the concepts of Gods & Goddesses? What first inspired the creation of this world you’ve given us?
Owen responds: The tough questions right away! Well, some of it is difficult to explain without dropping spoilers for books 2 and 3. The people of this world have been run by the church as far as ‘almost’ anyone can remember. The church is law and religion, and what they say goes. Period. According to the church, the relics are gifts given by the Goddess to those that are worthy. As far as my initial inspiration, unfortunately just saying it would be a spoiler into itself! What I will say is that there is a reason for pretty much everything in the world. From the Goddess to the relics, and of course to Kiera’s journey. I want my readers to enjoy the world that is before them and the story within, as well as to keep an open mind for what may lie ahead.
I have loved the idea of messengers in fantastical stories – what kind of animal messengers are inclusive to your world and how did you approach inserting them into the background of the mythical aspects of your world-building?
Owen responds: There is only one animal messenger! Rylen (the messenger) is a special little creation I came up with. He is a silver, talking, flying fox, none of which (other than just regular foxes…) have ever been seen before in this world. With the Goddess of the world dying and unable to guide Kiera on her journey, she knew Kiera would need help. Kiera is asked to violate church law, and by doing so risks making the world itself her enemy. She needs help and friends, and Rylen becomes not only her guide but companion and friend.
This is a story fraught with danger, intrigue and suspenseful mystery – especially considering what Kiera has to discover about her own abilities and her purpose within this world. What were the more challenging aspects of developing her character and aligning her within the central arc of the story?
Owen responds: I would say the balance of her personality itself was probably the hardest to really get going. I did not want her to be some damsel in distress. I wanted her to be tough from the get go. A lot of strong female leads tend to have ‘reasons’ why they become strong (some tragedy or something drove them to it). For Kiera, she’s been tough her whole life, and not scared to let her fists do the talking for her. But, as with us all, just because someone is tough doesn’t make them without fault. She can be brash and insecure, sometimes even forgetting that she has those tendencies which may lead to choices she probably shouldn’t make. But most importantly she needed to have a good heart and truly care about what is happening to the world.
How would you describe the Goddess Kyrinae to someone who is new to reading Fantasy and stories where there are Gods and Goddesses still impacting people’s lives?
Owen responds: Well, for this story one could argue whether or not the Goddess truly does impact people’s lives. She set Kiera on her quest, true, but before her noone in any written history (other than those the church claims) have actually seen her. It’s more the faith and belief in her that keeps the world running, and that is facilitated by the church.
What do you feel is the most challenging aspect of developing mystical and mythological back-histories into the framework of the world you wanted to build round your characters? In essence, which came first – the world or the characters themselves?
Owen responds: This is an excellent question. For me you could say the world came first, followed by what type of person I knew I wanted as the protagonist. I basically made a ‘Why chain’ in my head, and essentially worked backwards. I knew what I wanted, so to get there I had to ask ‘Why?’ Ok this happened, why? Ok why did that happen? In a sense, I started with the end of the story as my starting point. As the world developed, it led me to determine what kind of characters and companions would be needed to bring my vision of the world to life.
Of all the characters, creatures and fantastical elements within this story – what were your favourite moments as a writer and as a creator? Where did you draw your inspiration to create what is visually represented?
Owen responds: I think the first true moment when I was writing this story that gave me goosebumps was Kiera’s first fight and her dabbling into her abilities. I could see it in my head clear as day, and it still excites me to remember how that happened. As far as my inspiration, on a visual level it’s really just me thinking what ‘I’ would like as a reader. As far as the story itself, I’m actually a huge Joss Whedon fan. He’s one of the pioneers in creating strong, female leads along with entertaining, witty banter, and I like to put a lot of that into my own work.
Can you describe how you developed what is seen on the cover art for this novel? It is a rather artistically clever cover in both what it evokes and what it explains about this world. I was curious about the process of the design and how you found your illustrator?
Owen responds: Well, how I found my illustrator is sadly not all that interesting. I went online, googled book cover artists, and perused until I found someone that met my needs and artistic desires. I want someone to see the cover and immediately want to know what is going on and why the redheaded woman is reaching for that majestic figure in front of her. To me, that image on the cover is the start of everything. Both when a reader sees the book, and when the story in the book truly begins.
My artist did a fantastic job and I could not be happier with the results. We discussed back and forth a couple times on what we thought would be great, and she made it happen. I referenced her in my opening page and can’t recommend Fiona Jayde enough.
What first drew your eye into Fantasy and which authors of Fantasy first gave you the inclination towards seeking out Fantasy as a writer? What pulled you in the most? The themes of Fantasy in the different niches of genre, the worlds as you lived through them, the creatures and fantastical elements and/or the characters at the heart of the stories? Or a hearty combination of everything which breathes Fantasy to life?
Owen responds: Believe it or not, I’m actually a bit of a book snob and have a specific taste in what I really enjoy. My favorite kind of books are coming of age stories, where you start with the unknown hero and watch them grow throughout the book(s) to become something great. The Inheritance Saga (Eragon) was a big inspiration for me. The author wrote the first one when he was like 15 I think, and I really enjoyed what he did with his work. What I truly enjoy is blending the Fantasy elements into the book so it almost seems realistic. Magic and mystery and crazy creatures, a story works best when they exist in the story and help guide the plot as opposed to being the plot themselves.
What does Fantasy mean to you and what do you love about creating your own style of Fantasy?
Owen responds: Fantasy is imagination. It’s interesting in that Fantasy in a way can create itself. A great imagination can lead to a great fantasy story, which in turn can inspire someone else to use their imagination to create their own, and so forth. I never thought I could be very creative, so to develop my world and its characters from my own thoughts was by itself extremely rewarding. Overall, I love that ‘I’ direct what happens. Imagine any book you’ve read where you hated something that happened, or didn’t like a direction a character went. That won’t happen to me, as it is my story and from beginning to end I can be happy with what happens.
When you’re not researching and writing your stories what renews your spirit the most?
Owen responds: Just relaxing. Hanging at home with my fiance and pups. Talking to my daughter. Playing games, cooking, baking, etc. I don’t consider myself a very busy person, and thoroughly enjoy just sitting back and slowing down. It’s when things are the quietest and I’m not even trying to think of ideas that the best of them come.
I am truly thankful I am having opportunities this #WyrdAndWonder to host Indie Authors and to showcase their #IndieFantasy stories. I am hoping those who are following our feeds for the event and/or those who are routing through this lovely blog tour will find a #newtomeauthor to seek out and read based on the responses he’s given in this interview. It was a pleasure of joy for me as a book blogger to receive these replies and to feel as if I’ve had been given a lovely sampler of insight into what I’d find in the novel “Yggdraslia”!!
This blog tour is courtesy of:
NOTE: Similar to blog tours wherein I feature book reviews, book spotlights (with or without extracts), book announcements (or Cover Reveals) – I may elect to feature an author, editor, narrator, publisher or other creative person connected to the book, audiobook, Indie film project or otherwise creative publishing medium being featured wherein the supplemental content on my blog is never compensated monetarily nor am I ever obligated to feature this kind of content. I provide (98.5%) of all questions and guest topics regularly featured on Jorie Loves A Story. I receive direct responses back to those enquiries by publicists, literary agents, authors, blog tour companies, etc of whom I am working with to bring these supplemental features and showcases to my blog. I am naturally curious about the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of stories and the writers who pen them: I have a heap of joy bringing this content to my readers. Whenever there is a conflict of connection I do disclose those connections per post and disclose the connection as it applies.
This author Interview is part of my showcases for a Fantasy event I am co-hosting during our 3rd Year of #WyrdAndWonder – follow us socially via @WyrdAndWonder – stalk our tag (across social media) and/or join us in a month long celebration of how the fantastical realms of Fantasy give you wicked JOY.
Ideas of how you can participate – an initial welcome post by my co-host Imyril as well as the first Quest Log (map into the book blogosphere for #WyrdAndWonder) and the first Roll Call Log by my co-host Lisa!
Read our Creative Roulette #WyrdAndWonder Interview!
Be sure to visit my Announcement & TBR List!
{SOURCES: Book cover for “Yggdraslia”, book synopsis, author biography, author photograph of L.P. Owen, the tour banner and extract from the novel were all provided by Love Books Tours and are used with permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets were embedded due to codes provided by Twitter. Wyrd And Wonder 2020 banner created by Imyril (Image Credit: Flaming phoenix by Sujono Sujono from 123RF.com) and is used with permission. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Conversations with the Bookish banner and the Comment Box Banner.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2020.
I’m a social reader | I tweet my reading life
.@joriestory ? NEW Author Interview
?An Indie #Fantasy series
?A coming-of age tale
?Strong female lead
?With bits of #Mythology
?featured during #WyrdAndWonder➡️https://t.co/nKSoBu1vON#bookblogger | #LoveBooksTours pic.twitter.com/X6pXClrgVg
— Jorie (#WyrdAndWonder) ?? (@joriestory) May 24, 2020
Comments via Twitter:
It's the big finale for the #Yggdraslia blog tour!
To celebrate, we have two hosts today! @joriestory and Instagram @the.b00kreader!
Look out for their posts!
More about the book ➡️ https://t.co/FYaJKUXOgj#Followthetour #Lovebookstours pic.twitter.com/YXD7wc0yaF
— Love Books Group – Kelly Lacey (@LoveBooksGroup) May 24, 2020
A #WyrdAndWonder Author Interview | in conversation with L.P. Owen discussing the world behind "Yggdraslia" https://t.co/dGar96RT2p via @joriestory
— Meggy Roussel (@Choconwaffles) May 24, 2020
Many thanks to @joriestory for being part of the #Yggdraslia blog tour!
Today she is sharing a wonderful #Interview with the author #LPOwen and an extract!
The post ➡️ https://t.co/bm2wKqaHAe
More about the book ➡️ https://t.co/3yejZQkP8W#Lovebookstours pic.twitter.com/tvqSxqOsvx
— Love Books Group – Kelly Lacey (@LoveBooksGroup) May 24, 2020
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- #WyrdAndWonder
Thank you so much for being part of the blog tour!
Meggy from Love Books Group