My characters living
in Keltora are inspired by Scottish and Irish folklore. I count myself a
fair to middling scholar when it comes to the Celtic World, and most of what
interested me were the folk tales and fairy tales such as the Red Branch and
the Tain bo Cuailnge (literally, The Cattle Raid of Cooley). I
read a lot of the old "collections" of tales that were gathered in
the 1700s (many of which were actually made up by the man who wrote them or
retold in his own way), but I also spent time sifting through older encounters
in poetry and balladry. The true tales are almost lost in time because
the Celts did not write down things so much as passed them from generation to
generation as oral traditions. I spent some time in Scotland, walking
around the highlands and visiting remote places, and many of those places are
reflected in my stories. Of course, being born and raised in East
Tennessee, I have hiked mountains and valleys and seen a lot of scenery that
reminds me of Scotland. My ancestors who settled in the remote areas were
of Scottish and English descent (the ones who were not actually
"native" to the area, that is) and possessed a strong oral tradition.
So in some ways, writing the Celtic themes into my stories is
just my way of honoring my ancestry. Writers are, in a way, a reflection
of what they experience, and I am pleased to say many of my walks around
heather-covered moors and climbs across rough-cut bens has given me so much to
write about.
Laura J. Underwood
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Eggplant Literary Productions, Inc.
Date of Publication: 10/28/2013
ISBN: 978-1-932207-47-7
Kindle 978-1-932207-48-4
ASIN:
Word Count: 22,000
Cover Artist: Roan Carter
Book Description:
Ginny Ni’Cooley just wants a peaceful, quiet life. But quiet is hard to maintain when one’s mentor is a ghost who died a lush and a lech. And peace isn’t to be found when the locals expect their local mageborn to banish monsters and help infertile couples conceive.
It’s that last bit that is posing the most trouble for Ginny of late. Marman the pig-herder--once an unwelcome suitor--now wants Ginny to help him and his wife conceive, and doesn’t believe her when she says it’s beyond her powers.
When the couple try to solve their problem on their own, they manage to unleash a demon imprisoned years ago. Now, their actions have placed all of Connorscroft in danger and no matter how much peace and quiet Ginny wants, she’s got to find a way to defeat the demon before it destroys her village, the villagers and makes good on its threat to kill her.
About the Author:
Laura J. Underwood has been writing and publishing as far back as she can remember. Her earliest stories were selected by Marion Zimmer Bradley for the SWORD AND SORCERESS anthologies, and her first novel ARD MAGISTER came out in 2002 from Yard Dog Press. Since then she has seen the publication of nearly 300 short stories, novels, novellas and other stuff. She currently lives in East Tennessee where she works as a librarian.
Facebook: Laura Jean Underwood
Livejournal: http://laurajunderwood.livejournal.com/
Website: http://www.sff.net/people/keltora
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Thank you for hosting our title on its release day!
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