Guest Post ~ by Aedan Byrnes, author of Through the Oracle’s Mist

~ Guest Post ~

Niecey: Hi, Aedan! Thanks for guesting on my blog today. So excited to have you! This book looks ah-mazing! I was curious, can you tell me w hat made you write historical novels? Do you have an obsession with history, like I do?

Aedan:  I don’t think I write historical novels. I don’t think I write romance either though. I write novels and tales that appeal to me viscerally and enjoy using history to make them feel real. I have always been a student of the world. I love history and spend a great deal of time reading about it when not using it as backdrop for storytelling. Apollo’s Oracle at Delphi is a particular favorite of mine and I knew the Oracle piece of the story long before I knew anything else. I knew that I wanted an influence that was ageless and sustaining, but wise and foreshadowing even though perhaps not directly recounting the actual Oracle or the maidens of Apollo’s Temple.

As for the other backdrops, it was important to me to be accurate in the history even if the story was fiction. That made the writing fun for me. Once I knew the premise of the tale, I started thinking about times in history that were interesting to me and fitting them to the work. There are many more backdrops from history I hope to use in the series somehow, but I needed time to remain linear but also expansive for this tale, so not all my favorites made the cut. I looked at a large cross section history of the world and chose additional backdrops once I had worked in a couple that I knew in my head I needed to use to move the tale forward.

Japan was fun to work on. I am fascinated by the era before and of the Shoguns. The conflicts that occurred leading up to a system that changed the world was difficult to condense down into such a small segment of the book, but Japan was not the point of this tale. The expansion of the world west to east and vis-à-vis made the sands almost necessary, and for me, a welcome addition. There is such dynamic contrast between them from desert to desert which in turn reinforced the tale I was weaving as I tried to show that one person’s perspective is not the same as the next through the same set of events.

I wouldn’t say I am obsessed with history, but I do feel there is a wealth of opportunity for story telling in history. I think the great challenge of writing is to write not only what a reader will enjoy, but what you can enjoy writing or learn from by writing. Bending the pieces to scribe a tale that hasn’t been told is a great joy for me. While the second book deals more with the fantasy realm on Amaranth, I do hope in the third book and beyond to get back to the historical timeline here and incorporate more of my favorite times and places to the adventure of the Vengelys.

That fans have enjoyed the history makes ‘it’ for me. I feel like I have gotten to share a passion with them that they may not have had before, or gotten to deepen an appreciation that so few realize because let’s face it, for most of us, history class was a long hour. I’m ecstatic to meet another history fan, what are your favorite times and places? Where should we go in the future books? I’d love to know.

Niecey:  Sharing your passion is something I can relate with Thank you again for guesting today.

Everyone, please take a moment to check out Aedan’s novel, Through the Oracle’s Mist!!!

 
 
Through The Oracle’s Mist
Vengelys Series #1
Aedan Byrnes
Historical Paranormal Romance
Drake Valley Press USA

~Blurb~
In the blackest night, with the moon and stars to guide him, she would always be there waiting…
Cyrenna thought she died the day she watched Tynan and his brothers jump through the banishment portal in an act of solidarity with Rigor. Little did she know, it would be the first of many deaths she would experience in her quest to claim his heart. She would surrender not only her immortal soul, but a mortal one repeatedly. Through a deal with the great Oracle, she has multiple mortal lifetimes to change the direction of her future and have a chance with Tynan.
Her journey spans the ages from the GenPei War in Japan and the Silk Road west, to Cromwell, the Three Kingdoms and modern times, bringing her one step closer to forever until she makes a misstep. Then, the burden falls to Tynan. The only thing that is absolute is her fervent hope that he will come, but there’s one big problem.
Through it all, he doesn’t so much as know her name.
 
~Buy the Book~
~ Goodreads ~ Amazon Kindle ~ Paperback ~ Smashwords ~

 

~ About the Author ~
There is no simple description for Aedan Byrnes. Obsessive, dreamer, reclusive, compulsive, outdoorsman and wordsmith would be among the list if one were started. The displaced Gael lives in the upper Midwest with family between jaunts wherever the road takes him. A frequent traveler, he is as likely to be found rock climbing or spelunking as sitting fireside dreaming or aimlessly floating away.

A lifelong lover of words and writing, he claims a diverse reading appetite and his writing reflects the myriad influences. A self-proclaimed ‘reader’s writer’, he looks for the emotional and the sensory in word combinations, not just the visceral comprehension of phrases in the stories he crafts and his love of all things literary shines through.

~ Author Links ~
~ Goodreads ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Link-http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/MjVhMDE3YTEwNjQ1M2Q4YzVlNjEwYmY5ZWQ2ZGE1OjY1/

Facebook Event-https://www.facebook.com/events/234246923366314/







Prizes for giveaway



~ Excerpt ~

They call me street rat…filthy child…wasted life. Foraging about what seems to be palace walls judging by the building beyond them, I suppose that’s how it looks even if an inaccurate appearance for my soul. Who was I to educate them? They are not my purpose here. Tynan exists in this place.

Glancing about, watching my reflection in a lingering puddle I realize this is by far the youngest I have been. Judging by previous forays on this plane, I would guess that Tynan will be as he always is, and in time I will find him. Or, he will find me. Considering my circumstance, I hope it’s sooner than later.

Shouting from nearby grabs my attention. Young voices and loud commotion are getting louder. They’re coming closer. Suddenly, there are bodies everywhere. Mostly young people like me, racing past the place where I stand transfixed. Behind them, also running are adults, a lot of adults. By their garb I would guess them to be soldiers or some type of guards, though their attire does nothing to help me identify where, or more importantly when I am. The youth are fighting on the fly. They throw rocks, rotten food, or whatever they can grab easily as they scatter to the four winds. One is trying desperately to pull me along, but finally gives up and saves himself. I am as if stone, captivated by the guard at the far end of the way.

The erratic jet hair that skewers out from under the helmet, and the eyes bluer than deep ice, announces like a bugle blast in my head and an explosion in my chest, I have found Tynan. Or, Tynan found me. If only he knew it was me. My pulse is running faster than the youth who passed me going the opposite direction of my gaze. The world itself is drowned out of all perception, save the spotlight of my vision that can only see him. This tunnel-vision is probably why I missed seeing the blow coming. He turned to me, eyes widening in what I mistook for recognition. I saw his mouth open and him start in my direction, just before I saw nothing at all.

 

The post Guest Post ~ by Aedan Byrnes, author of Through the Oracle’s Mist appeared first on Niecey Roy.