Author Interview: Rachanee Lumayno, plus H is for Harpy
Book: Heir of Amber and Fire
Genre: Epic Fantasy, YA Fantasy
Author: Rachanee Lumayno
Today, I’m very pleased to chat with fantasy author Rachanee Lumayno. Hello Rachanee, can you tell us something about your book?
Rachanee: Hi, thank you for interviewing me! My book, Heir of Amber and Fire, is the first in the Kingdom Legacy series. When Princess Jennica’s father announces her arranged marriage, it uncovers some long-buried family secrets. To uncover the truth of her past, she teams up with a band of dragon Seekers to find the dragon that once kidnapped her mother. But her new friends have secrets of their own that may force her to betray them.
Royalty and secrets! Sounds like a fun read. You’ve already published a number of books in the Kingdom Legacy series. What are your plans for the future?
Rachanee: Heir of Crowns and Curses, book 4 in the Kingdom Legacy series, was just released earlier this month (on 10/10/23)! And I’m hoping to release book 5 in February or March of 2024. I’ve got seven books planned for this series, and then it’s on to a new series—and a potential spinoff of the Kingdom Legacy series.
Tell me more about your protagonist? Why did you choose to write her?
Rachanee: The main character, Princess Jennica, was actually based off a character I was supposed to play in a Dungeons and Dragons campaign. The campaign never happened, but her story stuck with me.
Thank you so much for joining me today. One last question: Where can readers find out more about you and your work?
Rachanee: You can learn more about me at http://www.rachanee.net (and sign up for my newsletter there too, to keep in touch!). And the Kingdom Legacy books can be found on my website and at all book retailers (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Google, Kobo, etc).
About the Author:
Headshots by Los Angeles photographer Robert OlinRachanee Lumayno is an actress, voiceover artist, screenwriter, avid gamer and amateur dodgeball player. She grew up in Michigan, where she spent way too much of her free time reading fantasy novels, so when she decided to try her hand at writing a book, it made sense that it would be in her favorite genre. The Kingdom Legacy series marks her debut as an author. She is also a staff writer for two comics, Criminal King and The Glove.
Link to book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Heir-Amber-Fire-Kingdom-Legacy-ebook/dp/B08YR3JZY5?ref_=ast_author_mpb
Sounds like another series for my TBR list!
Now, let’s go to the fantasy creature section. Last week I uploaded on Instagram, Tiktok and Facebook a short reel about Goblins in the ABC of Fantasy Creatures series. You can watch it here. This week’s fantasy creature is Harpies.
H is for Harpy
Harpies have the head of a woman and the body of a bird. Some stories depict them as beautiful women with wings; others however describe them as hideous, with pale faces, sharp teeth and long cruel talons.
Their name means ‘snatcher’ and in fact they are known to steal food from their victims as well as snatch evildoers to subject them to punishment. Harpies are sadistic creatures who enjoy torturing their victims before killing and eating them.
Harpies are cunning but not too intelligent. They use their claws as weapons, or large bones as clubs. Their song however is their most dangerous weapon as it enables them to trap their victims by entrancing them even from afar.
In Greek mythology, harpies were considered wind spirits, anthropomorphic representatives the destructive forces of winds, as well as servants of the god Zeus.
Some self-promo!
In the Inner Lands, there are three ways sixteen-year-old Shael can get herself and her family killed—by looking like the enemy; by working with the enemy; by becoming the enemy.
When sixteen-year-old Shael unknowingly helps a mortally wounded thief, he entrusts her with delivering three figurines to the lord of her castle. Too late, Shael discovers that the figurines were stolen from the Hyllethans, her country’s feared enemies. And since she cut her fingers on the figurines while handling them, she is now linked to them. Any breakage or pressure on the clay is felt on her flesh.
Despite her reluctance to aid the enemy, Shael teams up with three Hyllethans to retrieve the figurines and break the connection. Shael is caught in the tussle for the thrones of the two lands. To avoid becoming a pawn—or dangle from a hangman’s noose—she has to regain possession of the figurines and face the unsuspected secrets of her lost past.
Three thrones. Two power-hungry mages. One girl standing in their way.
Exiled in Hylletha, sixteen-year-old Shael longs to return to the land of her birth but her brother Iysel, the new, terrifying mage-king of the Inner Lands, wants her dead. Shael’s very existence threatens Iysel’s right to the throne since she is the holder of the magical Gift of Touch, which is traditionally held by the monarch.
To ensure peace, Theis, the young man Shael loves, goes to Iysel’s court to negotiate the reunification of Hylletha and the Inner Lands under one ruler. But when Shael’s young foster brother is abducted and held prisoner in the Inner Lands, Shael has only her limited knowledge of spellcraft to help her stay out of Iysel’s reach, rescue her foster brother and make sure Theis doesn’t bear the brunt of Iysel’s rage.
Complicating matters further, Iysel has won the unexpected support of their wily cousin—the son of the king of a neighbouring land and an extraordinary mage—who has his own reasons for wanting to get hold of Shael.
The stability of the three realms lies in the balance. Faced by intrigue and betrayal from all sides, Shael must choose between protecting the lives of those she loves or taking up her role as princess and heir to the thrones to safeguard the welfare of the people.
She’ll be crowned queen—if she lives that long.
With her coronation fast approaching, Shael fears the debilitating effects of poisoning resulting from her stint in the dragons’ birthing grounds will make her unfit to rule. But this becomes the least of her worries when her brother Iysel turns up claiming he’s the true King of Hylletha as well as heir to Dragonia. Shael is determined to protect the realms from the merciless mage, but the documents that challenge Iysel’s right to the thrones have disappeared.
Protecting the realms isn’t the only reason for finding the missing documents. Proving Iysel’s duplicity is the surest way of saving Theis, the love of Shael’s live, whom Iysel has accused of desertion and treason.
With time running out, with assassins stalking her every move and her health failing, Shael sets out to unravel the tangled web of deceit and greed ensnaring her and the kingdoms. Unfortunately, the most obvious culprit isn’t always the only enemy.
Dawn of Purple and Grey, Days of Wind and Snow, and Night of Rites and Wraiths (The Hyllethan Gifts Trilogy) are available through Amazon either as individual books or as a Complete Series Box Set.
Till next time,
Caroline
