Daughter of Aithne by Karin Rita Gastreich

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Why do you write in your genre? What draws you to it?

As an author, I love the challenge and freedom of fantasy. The genre allows us to stretch the limits of reality, exploring the human condition inside entirely imagined worlds. In addition, I believe there’s a lot of magic in real life, but many of us are blind to that magic. Fantasy brings magic to the forefront and makes it a central part of every character’s story, allowing all of us to better recognize the magic in our own lives.

What research/world-building is required?

Solid characters form the core of any fantasy novel, so the most important thing authors must understand is human nature – how we respond to challenges, disappointments, triumphs and failures in life as well as in love. If you can master that, you can write a fantasy set in any world. Everything else (technology, wardrobe, battle scenes, ecosystems, architecture, etc.) is just logistics.

Name one thing you learned from your hero/heroine.

Stay faithful to your path and to your own personal truth. Fight for what you believe in. Always act from compassion. Never say no to love.

Oops. That was more than one!

Do you have any odd or interesting writing quirks, habits or superstitions?

I’m not all that familiar with the habits of other writers, so I don’t know if any of my habits are quirky. I’m a fairly disciplined writer; I think about story telling all the time, and whenever I have a chance, I sit down at the computer and write.

Are you a plotter or pantser?

Both. I generally have an idea where a story is leading when I start writing, but I listen to my characters and if they decide to take the plot in a new direction, I follow their lead.

Look to your right – what’s sitting there?

At the table next to me in the coffee shop, there is a young woman at work on her computer. She has a big smile on her face and she’s wearing awesome winter boots with a bold floral pattern. Seems like the kind of person I’d like to have as a friend.

Anything new coming up from you? What?

Yes! If I weren’t responding to this interview, I’d be working on a contemporary dark fantasy called The Hunting Grounds. Set in my hometown of Kansas City, it is the chilling yet moving tale of one woman’s confrontation with her own death, and the power of love to carry us through the darkest nights of the soul.

Do you have a question for our readers?

What’s on your reading list for 2018? In lieu of that, tell me one special wish you have for the new year!

Betrayed by her own prodigy, Eolyn stands accused of treason. As power-hungry nobles dismantle her life's work and honor, the desperate queen forges a risky alliance with the ruthless and cunning Mage Corey. Determined to defend her son's claim to the throne of the Mage King, Eolyn prepares for her last and greatest battle, this time against her own sisters in magic.

Across the Furma River, Taesara of Roenfyn is drawn out of seclusion and into an ever-more vicious game of intrigue and war. Subject to the schemes of a shrewd uncle and the mysterious ambitions of the wizards of Galia, Taesara struggles to assert her own destiny, even as she takes up arms to defend her daughter's inheritance.

In the climactic finale to The Silver Web trilogy, threads of love, honor, betrayal, and vengeance culminate in a violent conflict between powerful women, opposed to each other yet destined to shatter a thousand-year cycle of war.

"An enticing and elegant series finale, filled with magic and turmoil." -KIRKUS REVIEWS

Read an excerpt:

Eolyn shifted in her seat. A thousand words stood poised upon her lips, of which only a handful could be chosen and delivered. Each conversation in the coming days had to be undertaken with great care, especially when it came to this mage.

“Why did Thelyn come for us, and not you?” she asked.

“I was needed to track down the magas still residing in the City,” Corey replied. “Besides, Thelyn was the better mage for that task.”

Mariel, she thought. He would not have had the heart to bind Mariel.

A small sign, perhaps, that Mage Corey could yet be counted among her friends.

“I understand you are to oversee their interrogation,” Eolyn said.

“It is true, my Lady Queen.”

“I have expressed my concerns about this to the King. He assures me that you and your mages will not be permitted to—”

“My Lady Queen, if there is one thing you have learned in the years of our friendship, it is that I will do whatever must be done in the moment at hand, and I will harden my heart to see it through.”

“That may be the case, Mage Corey. Yet I also know that words are your most effective tool. You have never resorted to violence to obtain what you require.”

Corey let her statement hang in the air.

Eolyn averted her gaze, suddenly aware of the icy tension in her hands.

I, too, am being interrogated.

“You did not bring a scribe,” she said quietly.

“What need have I for a scribe, my Lady Queen?” He softened his tone. “We are, as of yet, simply conversing.”

About the Author:

Karin Rita Gastreich writes stories of ordinary women and the extraordinary paths they choose. She lives in Kansas City, Missouri, where she is part of the biology faculty at Avila University. An ecologist by vocation, Karin has wandered forests and wildlands all her life. Her pastimes include camping, hiking, music, and flamenco dance. In addition to THE SILVER WEB trilogy, Karin has published short stories in World Jumping, Zahir, Adventures for the Average Woman, and 69 Flavors of Paranoia. She is a recipient of the Spring 2011 Andrews Forest Writer’s Residency.

Website: http://krgastreich.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/EolynChronicles
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Eolyn-110814625640244/

Purchase link for EOLYN, Book One of THE SILVER WEB: http://www.amazon.com/Eolyn-Silver-Web-Book-1-ebook/dp/B01B8F4G50
Purchase link for SWORD OF SHADOWS, Book Two of THE SILVER WEB: https://www.amazon.com/Sword-Shadows-Silver-Web-Book-ebook/dp/B01G5L1GEG
Purchase link for DAUGHTER OF AITHNE, Book Three of THE SILVER WEB: https://www.amazon.com/Daughter-Aithne-Silver-Web-Book-ebook/dp/B06WCZYRNW

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