Author

Ruth Davis Hayes

Kara Hash

Tracy Angelina Evans

WHAT IS THE WORKING TITLE OF YOUR BOOK?

Curse of Venus: Morrigan’s Brood Book IV

WHERE DID THE IDEA COME FROM FOR THE BOOK?

Heather and I (Christopher) researched several periods in history following 564 CE, the year our second novel ends, seeking interesting an period in world history when we might want to set the novels of our series. The ninth century seemed like a pivotal moment for European, Nordic, and Far Eastern societies, so we chose to set novels III, IV, and V in that period. We wrote all three of those novels as a single 1400 page manuscript, knowing we would break up the manuscript into a trilogy, and so book IV is the middle of the trilogy. We chose to focus on Charlemagne and his reign as the impetus of the story because we wanted to get to know him better as a man and to show a side of him that is seldom written about. What if you were the newly crowned Imperator Romanorum and you recently found out mythological beings existed, challenging your beliefs?

UNDER WHAT GENRE DOES YOUR BOOK FALL?

Historical Fantasy is the main genre, with elements of Epic Fantasy, Fantasy Adventure, and Dark Fantasy woven in.

WHICH ACTORS WOULD YOU CHOOSE TO PLAY YOUR CHARACTERS IN A MOVIE RENDITION?

From early on in our profiling of characters, we have considered what actors of the day we fell possessed the dramatic and comedic range to play our characters, but sometimes suggesting a particular actor feels like it limits the reader’s ability to see someone in a character. I guess there are a few people we see when we write. Marcus and Mandubratius have always been Clive Owen and James Purefoy, respectively, but Máire… well, we haven’t found her yet. There are some others we see, but readers sometimes tell me who they see in the roles, and their suggestions have been intriguing. Other than those two, Chris always saw a younger Brian Blessed as Mac Alpin, where Heather saw a younger Billy Connelly. So, even we have differing opinions on characters and actors.

WHAT IS THE ONE-SENTENCE SYNOPSIS OF YOUR BOOK?

Will the bitter rivalry between Emperor Charles and the man who crowned him Imperator Romanorum, Pope Leo III, send the Empire further into chaos and destruction, or will their Deargh Du “angels” save them from themselves and from the Strigoi, Venus’ Cursed?

WILL YOUR BOOK BE SELF-PUBLISHED OR REPRESENTED BY AN AGENCY?

The books of the Morrigan’s Brood Series are published by Triscelle Publishing.

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO WRITE THE FIRST DRAFT OF YOUR MANUSCRIPT?

The 1400 page manuscript took us about three to six months to write the first draft… rewrites took another year.

WHAT OTHER BOOKS WOULD YOU COMPARE THIS STORY TO WITHIN YOUR GENRE?

These snippets are from a review posted on GoodReads by a reader.

Alecia writes, “…it reminded me of the depth a Tolkien novel would have…” and “…for someone into the fantasy style of say Salvatore…”.

Chris’ response was, “Cool.”

WHO OR WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO WRITE THIS BOOK?

I (Heather) would say our international travels inspired our writing. There is just so much history and a variety of cultures in our world. Also, I would say that the mythology I learned in school and from friends, neighbors, and people all over the world inspired me. I can’t deny that I love the ancient stories that are the basis of our tales.

WHAT ELSE ABOUT YOUR BOOK MIGHT PIQUE THE READER’S INTEREST?

I think that it’s a change of pace from the usual vampire books out there. It’s an adventure tale with blood-drinkers, and I hope that people will find it entertaining, and I hope our works will inspire our readers to research these legends and myths from our world’s past.