INTERVIEW
How did you start your writing career?
I wrote poetry from an early age and published it until I had time to write a novel, which I always intended to do. When I was 41, sadly, my husband died and I had the time to write I had previously lacked. My Muse made up for lost time.
Tell us about a favorite character from a book.
Sergius Magistri, the mad general from Book I, The King’s Daughter, is my favorite. He is an interesting conundrum—a man who thinks he can save the world by destroying it. And yet you love him, or at least most of my readers do. I am positively in love with him.
Where do you dream of traveling to and why?
I have been to Ireland many times, it is where I wrote my first book, and I would go back in a heartbeat.Who is your favorite author?
I think T.H. White is the most brilliant fantasy author I have ever read, although JRR Tolkien is a close runner-up.
What is the hardest part of writing your books?
Getting started, although once I do it’s a nearly automatic process until the book is finished.
What does your significant other and family think of your writing career?
Hmm, one reason I never wrote until after my husband’s death is that he didn’t take it seriously or believe it could ever provide the income we needed with five children to raise. Of course, he was correct on the second part. But fortunately all the chicks have successfully left the nest, so that’s not a concern.
How do you describe your writing style?
Strictly seat of the pants. I know writers who plot and cover their offices with post-its, outline and file meticulously. I think I would blow a fuse if I tried. My Muse is wild and unrestrained and has a deep fondness for poetry even when it’s disguised as prose.
Do you hear from your readers? What kinds of questions do they ask?
I do, actually. They are responsible for the creation of the third book in my Chronicles, Ice Maiden. Because my main character’s oldest son was such a sympathetic figure, they wanted to know whatever happened to him. I had made some allusions to it in my second book, so the third book was his story.
ABOUT THE BOOK
The Chronicles of Alciniaby Miriam Newman
GENRE: Historical fantasy
BLURB:
Available for the first time as an e-book bundle, the award-winning historical fantasy series The Chronicles of Alcinia weaves a tale of war, history, passion and romance. In Book I, The King’s Daughter, Tarabenthia of Alcinia should grow to inherit her father’s throne by the rocky cliffs of the sea. When invaders seize her land, what will she sacrifice in the name of love? In Book II, Heart of the Earth, the Northern Prince who has always wanted Tia saves her life. But will the price of his protection be too high? And finally in Book III, Ice Maiden, readers who wondered about the fate of Tia’s oldest son have their answer. Sometimes heart-wrenching, always powerful, this is a tale of heroes and the women who loved them.
EXCERPT
I was the King's daughter once, so many years ago that sometimes now it is hard to remember. Before the tide of time carried away so many things, so many people, it was worth something to be the daughter of a King.
Our little island nation of Alcinia was not rich, except for tin mines honeycombing the south. It wasn't even hospitable. Summer was a brief affair and fall was only a short time of muted colors on the northernmost coast where my father sat his throne at the ancient Keep of Landsfel. Winter was the killing time and spring was hardly better, with frosts that could last into Fifth- Month. But from the south, where men cut thatch in a pattern like the bones of fish, to the north where rock roses spilled down cliffs to the sea, it was my own.
One thinks such things will never change, yet all things do.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Beginning a prize-winning career in poetry, Miriam carried her love of the written word into seventeen novels to date. Her offerings range from contemporary and historical fantasy to science fiction and historical fiction, always with a romantic flavoring. Her original novel The King’s Daughter—now part of The Chronicles of Alcinia—was written in Ireland, her second home. When in the U.S., she resides on a small horse farm in Pennsylvania with a collection of rescue animals.
Links: https://www.amazon.com/CHRONICLES-ALCINIA-Miriam-Newman-ebook/dp/B073DQSG8N
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-chronicles-of-alcinia-miriam-newman/1126646916
www.miriamnewman.com
www.thecelticroseblog.blogspot.com
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMiriamNewman
https://twitter.com/miriamnewman
GIVEAWAY
Miriam Newman will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
a Rafflecopter giveaway