<>

Albert Camus

Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Interview and Giveaway: Children of Avalon Series by Meredith Bond

Description:

Over two hundred years ago the great Merlin prophesied the coming of the Children of Avalon who would fight and, hopefully, defeat Lady Nimuë in her quest to rule and become most powerful Vallen ever. To guide them, he left a knight of King Arthur’s Round Table , Sir Dagonet . Now, after seven generations, it is finally time for events to begin to unfold.

Our story begins with:

Air: Merlin’s Chalice

In one day Scai has gone from being considered unusual by the people of her little Welsh village to an outcast fleeing for her life. Left on the church steps as a baby, she knows nothing of her history—or her abilities. Did she really stop the rain just by wishing it to stop? But she is determined to learn all she can. Travelling alone to find her family seems to be the only way she’s going to find the answers she seeks.

Her journey leads her to the comical old knight Sir Dagonet, who tells her that she is one of a magical people called the Vallen. Together they continue on, joined by the handsome Dylan and the fiery Bridget on a new quest—to find the fabled Merlin’s Chalice, said to hold all the power of the entrapped wizard. Together, Scai, Dylan and Bridget discover that they are the long awaited Children of Avalon, destined to save the world from power-hungry Lady Nimuë—unless she kills them first.

Along the way, Scai finds magic—both in the wind and air that she can control at will, and in the sweet ache of a first love that she cannot.

Next, Dylan continues our story in:

Water: Excalibur’s Return

Dylan has never been good enough. Neither his foster-brother nor his father have ever thought so. But now, finally, Dylan has a chance to demonstrate what he can do in the most difficult of situations. Dylan is the only descendant of the great Merlin and a member of a magical race known as the Vallen. One of the Children of Avalon, he knows he is strong enough to defeat Lady Nimuë. But when Dylan thinks he can take her on on his own, he is quickly shown otherwise.

When not even the love of a beautiful and powerful woman is enough, what will it take for Dylan to prove that he is worthy of taking on the greatest threat Britain has ever faced?

Finally, Bridget will finish our tale in:


Fire: Nimuë’s Destiny

Bridget isn’t sure she has what it takes to be a leader, but she’s about to find out. The witch hunts are getting worse by the day. But when Lady Nimuë kidnaps Bridget’s own family things get personal. Only Bridget, the brilliant Scai and powerful Dylan—the prophesied Children of Avalon—have the power to defeat Lady Nimuë. The question is, does Bridget have the strength of will to lead them through to the end?

When Scai’s childhood friend, Aron the blacksmith, joins their group, Bridget is suddenly faced with a new challenge—this one from her heart. Will her love for Aron get in the way of defeating Nimuë, or will it give her the confidence she’ll need?

MB's INTERVIEW

What do The Legends of Arthur represent for the humanity and literature? 
First of, thank you so much for having me here today! I really appreciate it. And secondly, wow! What a fantastic question. The legends of King Arthur are a vital part of literature, beginning with Le Morte d’Arthur which compiles ages of stories which had only existed in oral story-telling right on through T. H.. White’s The Once and Future King. These stories (and there are many of not only Arthur and how he became king, but Lancelot, Guinevere, Sir Gawain and many others) have been told again and again from so many different points of view: magical, political, military, feminist… on and on. The capture out imagine and give us hope for a better day.

How much freedom has an author to change or to add to a classic story and are there some elements, aspects that must remain unchanged? 
The scope for adaptation is pretty unlimited. People have taken the legends of Arthur and adapted them to fit all sorts of ideologies. You do need to maintain just enough, though, so that they are recognizably the same story: King Arthur unifying the island of Great Britain, Guinevere his wife, the Round Table. But from there the stories go all over the place. I even comment on it in Air: Merlin’s Chalice when Morgan le Fey says to her sister, Nimuë, that forever she would be thought of as the evil one thanks to Nimuë. In my story Morgan is good and Nimuë is evil, but in other stories, it’s the other way around. 

What is the biggest challenge when you add new chapters to a legend? 
The same with any book, really, to create a compelling, fun story in which readers can immerse themselves. That’s what I’ve gone for in the Children of Avalon. In C of A, the story takes place two hundred years after King Arthur has died. One of his knights, Sir Dagonet has hung around for that time waiting for our heroes to be born and become old enough to embrace their destiny. And Nimuë has waited that time in order to solidify her position in Britain so that she can take over. The story involves writing another chapter to the story of the magical isle of Avalon and to explain why it isn’t there (as far as we know) any longer, so I’m also trying to provide a possible answer to the question: what happened?

You have been teaching writing for the past six years. How different is actually to put in practice the theory of how to write? 
Not only have I taught the same writing courses for six years, but multiply that by two, sometimes three for each semester I teach the classes. And every single time I do I learn something about my own writing or have the opportunity to explore a concept more fully through my writing. I love to put what I teach into practice. I don’t just teach theory, I teach writing and I use everything I teach in my own work. 

What a story needs to be a great one? 
Every story. A writer needs to believe in the story they’re writing. They need to believe in the characters. It’s not unheard of for writers to truly fall in love with the characters they’re writing. We’re in their heads. We’re thinking their thoughts and speaking their words, and we’re spending a lot of time with these people and thinking they way they do. If we don’t do this, the story and the characters aren’t going to be believable. And it isn’t going to be the best it can be. 

About the author:
Meredith Bond is an award–winning author of a series of traditionally published Regency romances and indie–published paranormal romances. Known for her characters “who slip readily into one’s heart”, Meredith’s heart belongs to her husband and two children. Her paranormal romances include Magic In The Storm, Storm on the Horizon, and the short story “In A Beginning”. Her traditional Regencies include The Merry Men Quartet of which An Exotic Heir and A Dandy In Disguise have recently been republished. Meredith teaches writing at her local community college. If you want a taste of her class in book form, Chapter One is available at your favorite e–retailer.

Want to know more? Come visit Meredith at her website or chat with her on Facebook or Twitter @merrybond and find her at Goodreads. If you’d like to be one of the first to know of Meredith’s new releases and get a free vignette four times a year sign up for Meredith’s newsletter here.



8 comments:

Joseph Hawkshaw said...

Fire i love when we have camp fires.

Linda Romer said...

I connect more with Air.

stacey dempsey said...

I think I connect with water the most

Unknown said...

Water would be my thing i love it, thank you for the giveaway

Unknown said...

Water. thank you for the giveaway

collenga said...

I'm a Gemini so I connect with air.

Unknown said...

Water, I think :DD

Anonymous said...

air