Goodreads asked Ella J. Smyth:

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Ella J. Smyth I grew up in Germany and devoured fairytales, mainly Grimms' but also Hauff, Andersen, Bechstein and many others. Then I met my lovely husband and we moved to Ireland. I hadn't realized that the Grimm brothers traveled to Ireland in the 19th century and collected Irish fairytales. They published them and I was blown away by the crossover between two different cultures.

Anybody in my generation would also be aware of the importance of a writer Karl May who wrote Westerns focusing on the 'noble redskin' - yeah, he wasn't very culturally aware but nevertheless treated the American aboriginal nations with a hell of a lot more respect than others in the 19th century. Or even today when you look at the repetition of history in North Dakota Nov 2016. Just saying.

Anyway, this idea of cultural crossover stayed with me. My heroes come from diverse backgrounds - Adi is German and Honi Cheyenne. Mythologies from both cultures play a major role in the novel and really the book is about finding common ground amongst all the differences. The novel is serialized on my website so you can see for yourself if you like the idea.

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