I am honored to, once again, host Shira Anthony talking about Running with the Wind, the final chapter in her Mermen of Ea series.
Thanks so much for hosting me! I’m so excited about the
release of the last Mermen of Ea book. For those who may not already know, I’m
a former opera singer (you can hear a live recording of me singing here, if
you’re interested: http://www.shiraanthony.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/tosca-visse-darte-exceprt1.mp3)
turned lawyer and author. I work as public sector attorney doing child advocacy,
and not only do I work full-time, when I’m not working I pretty much spend
every waking hour writing.
Running
with the Wind is the final book in the Mermen of Ea
Series. The series is high fantasy, adventure, and romance set in the Age of
Sail and features mermen shifters, or Ea. The books are one long story arc, and
follow the adventures of Taren Laxley, born into servitude, who dreams of
sailing on the ocean. When Taren is kidnapped by pirates, an entirely new
universe opens to him. Later, when he dives overboard to rescue a crewmate in a
storm, he comes face to face with the truth of his existence: he isn’t human at
all, but a mer-shifter. Over the series, Taren grows from a young man who fears
his freedom to a man who must lead his people to their destiny.
I’ve loved fantasy stories since I was a little kid and
my dad read the Lord of the Rings books to me and my little sister. From there,
I discovered the original Star Trek,
and I branched out to include science fiction in the mix. I also loved
romances, and I would tear through as many as I could get my hands on. The best
stories for me? Stories that combined both fantasy and romance. Which probably
explains why my favorite stories ever are from Marion Zimmer Bradley’s
“Darkover” series. Those stories are set on an alien planet where humans and
aliens had interbred to create a caste of people who had psi abilities
(telepathy being the simplest of their abilities). Darkovans rode horses and
fought with steel. Their society was ruled by kings and sorcerers. There were
so many wonderful layers to those stories—To this day I still reread them for
writing inspiration.
I have no doubt that my love of fantasy fueled my
creative soul, and that my brain is wired to imagine and create. I’ve been
inspired to write stories based on dreams I’ve had, and I’ve dreamed about
stories I’m writing and have awoken with great ideas for those stories. I was
always one of those kids who had her head in the clouds. I remember, at age 10,
how I used to walk to the library wearing the Trek science officer uniform my mother had made me, hoping and
praying Scotty truly would beam me up!
Years later, here I am creating the universes from my imagination on
paper and loving every minute of it. And the universe in the Mermen
of Ea Series is such a joy to play in!
It doesn’t take much to understand the appeal of mermen.
Getting certified in scuba has opened an entirely new universe to me. When I’m
under the water, I want to stay there forever, which really doesn’t work with a
limited tank of oxygen and a little thing called a “surface interval” (humans’
bodies need to slowly off-gas the buildup of nitrogen that occurs when diving
by spending a set amount of time above the water between dives—this is related
to the painful and often fatal condition known as “the bends” most people have
heard about). Human bodies simply aren’t made for extended time underwater
unless they’re in a pressurized environment like a submarine.
What a wonderful fantasy to be able to exist both on land
in human form, as well as in the ocean, in merman form! Truly the best of both
worlds. Not that I’d like to be caught in the middle of a merfolk civil war, or
a battle at sea, like the heroes of the Mermen of Ea Series. But in a perfect
universe, it would be lovely, wouldn’t it?
I hope you’ll join me on the epic adventure of
mer-shifters Ian and Taren, beginning with Stealing
the Wind, continuing with into Into the Wind, and ending with Running
with the Wind. Be sure to look for the cool Rafflecopter giveaway with some
nautical and mermen themed prizes. Happy reading! –Shira
Blurb:
Sequel to Into the Wind
With the final confrontation between the island and mainland Ea factions looming, Taren and Ian sail with Odhrán to investigate a lost colony of merfolk in the Eastern Lands. Upon their arrival, the King of Astenya welcomes them as friends. Odhrán, however, isn’t so quick to trust the descendent of the man who held him prisoner for nearly a decade, especially now that he has someone to cherish and protect—the mysterious winged boy he rescued from the depths.
Armed with the knowledge he believes will save the Ea, Taren returns to the mainland. With Ian at his side, Taren convinces Vurin that their people must unite with their island brethren before it’s too late. When Seria and his men attack, Taren must call upon the ancient power of the rune stone to protect his comrades. But using stone’s immeasurable power commands a hefty price—and Ian fears that price is Taren’s life.
With the final confrontation between the island and mainland Ea factions looming, Taren and Ian sail with Odhrán to investigate a lost colony of merfolk in the Eastern Lands. Upon their arrival, the King of Astenya welcomes them as friends. Odhrán, however, isn’t so quick to trust the descendent of the man who held him prisoner for nearly a decade, especially now that he has someone to cherish and protect—the mysterious winged boy he rescued from the depths.
Armed with the knowledge he believes will save the Ea, Taren returns to the mainland. With Ian at his side, Taren convinces Vurin that their people must unite with their island brethren before it’s too late. When Seria and his men attack, Taren must call upon the ancient power of the rune stone to protect his comrades. But using stone’s immeasurable power commands a hefty price—and Ian fears that price is Taren’s life.
Pages or Words: 67,000 words
Categories: Fantasy, Fiction, M/M
Romance, Paranormal, Romance
Sales Links:
About the
author:
In her last incarnation, Shira was
a professional opera singer, performing roles in such operas as “Tosca,” “i
Pagliacci,” and “La Traviata,” among others. She’s given up TV for evenings
spent with her laptop, and she never goes anywhere without a pile of unread M/M
romance on her Kindle.Shira is married with two children and two insane dogs, and when she’s not writing she is usually in a courtroom trying to make the world safer for children. When she’s not working, she can be found aboard a 36’ catamaran at the Carolina coast with her favorite sexy captain at the wheel.
Excerpt:
SPOILER WARNING:
This excerpt contains spoilers for the first two series books!
Running with the
Wind
Excerpt
from Chapter One
Ian
leaned over the railing as the morning sunlight warmed
his shoulders. A few feet away, Taren wrapped a blanket around the shivering
boy, who sat with his knees hugged to his chest. He tenderly ruffled the boy’s
fiery red hair. The boy leaned into Taren’s touch and made a satisfied sound
much like the purr of a cat.
Not a boy, Ian reminded
himself. Bastian. An Anuki. The
heavenly brethren of the Ea. A dragon shifter reborn from the ashes. True, this
freckle-faced dragon child looked nothing like the full-fledged beast who’d
nearly killed them the day before, but they knew little of the Anuki. Had it
only been a day since Seria’s men had attacked them and they’d lost Rider to
Seria’s bullet?
Ian
met Taren’s gaze and his grief eased slightly. Taren smiled back, his warm
brown eyes hooded with exhaustion and grief, his shoulder-length hair having
dried in a tumble of waves. From where he sat on the deck, Bastian watched
Odhrán, keenly interested. The sphere they’d discovered not long after the
destruction of the Sea Witch—an egg,
Ian now knew—had dissolved beneath the water. Bastian had been choking and
spluttering when Odhrán had carried him aboard. Since then, Bastian had done
little but watch Odhrán with rapt attention.
Like a baby bird
watches its mother.
Ian frowned at his folly. How easy it was to forget this pathetic creature had
destroyed the Sea Witch and nearly
killed them all. If Odhrán hadn’t killed the dragon Bastian had become, they’d
all have died. And yet Bastian had been reborn.
Bastian
glanced up at Taren, blinked several times, then shifted his gaze back to
Odhrán, who spoke in hushed tones to one of his crew. The long blond braid down
Odhrán’s back dripped onto the deck and left the back of his woolen jacket
sodden. Despite the bright blue of his eyes and his youthful features, Odhrán
appeared as exhausted as Ian felt.
“A
moment of your time?” Ian said after the crewmember trotted off toward the
stairs, leaving the four of them alone on the foredeck.
Odhrán
nodded and followed Ian amidships, far enough away that Bastian wouldn’t hear.
“Do
you think this is wise?” Ian asked with a quick glance back at Taren and
Bastian.
“What
would you have me do? Leave him to drown?” Odhrán, too, appeared weary. Ian
knew he still regretted having killed the fully transformed Bastian.
“He couldn’t live without Rider.” Taren’s
words echoed in Ian’s mind. Rider—Ian’s oldest friend—had taken a bullet in
Ian’s stead. There’d been no time to grieve.
“No.”
Ian sighed. “Rider would have wanted us to care for him.” Taren would never
have forgiven him for suggesting they leave Bastian to drown, and they’d lost
too much to even consider it.
Odhrán
nodded curtly and turned his gaze eastward. Now calm in the wake of the storm,
the water sparkled with sunlight. Nothing remained of the Sea Witch but a few bits of broken timbers floating restlessly on
the waves. Later, all of the men now aboard the Chimera would gather on the deck to remember the Witch’s captain, but for just a moment,
Ian could almost imagine Rider at the wheel of his beloved ship.
I’ll miss you,
old friend. More than you’ll ever know.
Ian
shrugged off his dark thoughts and walked back to Taren. “You should get some
sleep.” He squeezed Taren’s shoulder. “Odhrán and I will not let Bastian out of
our sight.”
Taren
pressed his lips together and nodded. How tired Taren must be that he didn’t
even argue!
“I’ll
join you in a bit.” Ian pressed his lips to Taren’s warm cheek.
Taren
retrieved the blanket that had fallen off Bastian’s shoulders and wrapped it
around him again. Naked as Bastian was beneath, Ian caught a glimpse of the
wings they’d seen when they’d discovered him on the ocean floor. No longer
scaled as they’d been when they’d first pulled Bastian from the water,
Bastian’s wings were now covered with feathers and shimmered red, yellow,
orange, and fuchsia, iridescent in the sunlight.
“I’ll
be back later,” Taren told Bastian with a barely repressed yawn. “I promise.”
Bastian’s
eyes revealed little understanding. Had he forgotten everything of his former
life? Perhaps he was still too overwhelmed from the shock of the past day’s
events to fully comprehend his situation. He’d not uttered a word since they’d
brought him aboard.
Taren
kissed Ian—a fleeting kiss, but one Ian needed to reassure himself that all had
not changed—before heading belowdecks to rest.
Ian
met Odhrán at the bow. “He’s like a fledgling,” Ian said, inclining his head in
Bastian’s direction, “watching you like a bird might his mother.”
Odhrán’s
brow knitted. He’d clearly noticed it as well. “I’ve asked Garan to reinforce
the enchantments on the ship’s masts and sails. There’s nothing more to be
done.”
“Aye.
But if Bastian threatens the ship—”
“Then
I’ll be forced to subdue him. Not a prospect I relish, although in his current
state, he appears far less powerful than before.” Odhrán studied Bastian once
again. “For now, at least, he’s content to be in our company.”
“What
do you know of the Anuki?”
“They’re
much like the Ea in their ability to shift to human form. I met one centuries
ago, but he was nothing like this. Not a child. But what happened with
Bastian….”
“Reborn
from the ashes.” Ian’s heart ached once again for the loss of Rider.
“My
time with one of their kind was brief.” Odhrán stared past Ian as if
remembering.
Ian
didn’t press the issue. Later, perhaps, he’d ask Odhrán about that encounter.
“And his memories of his life with Rider?”
Odhrán
shook his head. “I don’t know. I suppose only time will tell.”
Ian
clenched his jaw. The realization that Bastian might not remember anything of
his love for Rider made Ian’s grief that much greater.
Where to find the author:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shira.anthony
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shira-Anthony/177484618974406
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WriterShira
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/anthony0564/
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover
Artist: Anne Cain
Tour Dates & Stops:
1-Jun
2-Jun
3-Jun
4-Jun
5-Jun
8-Jun
9-Jun
10-Jun
11-Jun
12-Jun
15-Jun
16-Jun
17-Jun
18-Jun
19-Jun
22-Jun
23-Jun
24-Jun
25-Jun
26-Jun
Rafflecopter
Prize: $10 gift card and backlist book of choice
a Rafflecopter giveaway
No comments:
Post a Comment