Please
share a little about yourself, your genres, any other pen names you use.
My full name is Karin Rita Gastreich, and this is
also the name I use as an author. By
day, I am an ecologist who teaches biology at Avila University. At night and on weekends, I am a fantasy
fiction author and a flamenco dancer. I
live part of the year in my home town of Kansas City, and part of the year in
my husband’s hometown of Heredia, Costa Rica.
Tell
us a little about your latest or upcoming release.
My first novel, the epic fantasy Eolyn¸ was released in 2011 by Hadley
Rille Books. It begins in the brutal aftermath of a civil war between the Mage
King Kedehen and the Magas, women of magic, who opposed his reign.
Fleeing the wrath of the Mage King, Eolyn, daughter
of the last of the Magas and sole heiress to their forbidden tradition, seeks
refuge in the South Woods. There she meets the mysterious boy Akmael, and forms
a friendship that thrives on shared magic.
Destiny leads them down a tortuous path of love, betrayal, and war,
until one day the Maga Eolyn takes up arms against the new Mage King, Akmael.
Must Eolyn slay the man she loves in order to free
herself and her people?
The answer lies in the extraordinary magic she
commands, and in the hidden power of a Maga’s heart.
Are
you a mom (or parent)?
A series of life events and circumstances have led
me not to have children, and I’ve come to appreciate this path I’ve been
given.
That’s not to say I don’t like children; I love
children, and I am very grateful for the many nieces and nephews that have
blessed both my family and my husband’s family.
(It’s fun to be an aunt!) Nonetheless, I’ve learned that life can be
joyous and fulfilling without children of my own, and this has been an
important lesson for me.
I often suspect that Eolyn would not have been written if I had had children. Certainly,
it would not have been written at this stage of my life. The novel came into
being precisely during the period when I was coming to terms with the fact that
I might never be a mother. In many ways,
Eolyn is the daughter I never had – which can be hard sometimes, because all
good authors have to make their protagonists suffer, and I hate to see Eolyn
suffer!
Is
there a theme or message in your work that you would like readers to connect
to?
It’s hard to pick just one theme – there are so many
important threads in the book.
Essentially, Eolyn is a woman struggling to define her own path in the
face of prejudice and oppression, and in a world largely ruled by men. This a theme I think a lot of people can
relate to.
My message, then, is that it is possible to define
your own path, to be the person you want to be, no matter how difficult the
obstacles are that you face. But your
success depends not only your own effort and determination, it depends also on the
friends and allies you make along the way.
None of us live in this world alone, and in learning to understand each
other, we learn about – and liberate – ourselves.
What
would your readers be surprised to learn about you?
My surname Gastreich originated in the 14th
century, and in medieval German it meant “taster of wines”. So, the first Gastreich was a wine taster,
and this is a proud family tradition that we continue to this day.
Mind you, I’m not picky about the wines I
taste. I will taste and enjoy pretty
much any wine you put in front of me, no matter what its price or origin!
Is
there a genre(s) that you’d like to write that you haven’t tackled yet?
I would love to write historical fiction. If I can ever become a full time author, with
time to dedicate to doing the necessary research, I will try my hand at this
genre and write about some of the women in history who have inspired me.
If
this book is part of a series…what is the next book? Any details you can share?
Oh, I’d love to share! Eolyn was
actually written as a stand-alone novel.
It wasn’t until after I signed that first contract with Hadley Rille
Books that ideas started coming together for a companion novel. That companion, entitled High Maga, is almost done. If everything goes according to plan, it
will be released early in 2014.
High Maga is a darker tale, more entrenched
in the terrible realities of war and the malevolent use of magic. The story picks up a few years after the end
of the first book. Eolyn, the last
of the High Magas, founds a new coven in the isolated province of Moehn. The
young girls she trains will, she hopes, revive a millennial tradition of
women's magic.
Akmael,
the new Mage King of Moisehén and Eolyn's erstwhile love, must defend his land
against invasion by the Syrnte, whose witch-queen has summoned long-banished
creatures of the netherworld to aid her conquest.
When
the Syrnte army descends upon Moehn, Eolyn's school is burned and her students
killed, captured or scattered. Aided by Borten, a loyal knight of the king to
whom she is increasingly drawn, and the devious and untrustworthy Mage Corey,
Eolyn must escape the occupied province and deliver to Akmael the weapon that
might secure his victory.
Their
collective journey will test the limits of love and endurance, until Eolyn
comes to understand -- perhaps too late -- that she also carries the
shadow that could unleash Akmael’s doom.
October 22 Tour Intro
Lisa’s World of Books
October 23 Interview
Roxanne’s Realm
October 24 Guest blog
Queen of All She Reads
October 25 Guest blog
The Solitary Bookworm
October 26 Guest blog
Fang-tastic Books
October 26 guest blog
October 27 Interview
The Creatively Green Write at Home Mom
November 1 Guest blog
For The Love Of Film And Novels
November 3 Promo
November 4 Interview
Laurie's Paranormal Thoughts & Reviews
November 5 Guest blog
Always a Booklover –
November 15 Feature/Interview
Bewitching Book Tours Magazine
Karin Rita Gastreich
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Hadley Rille Books
ISBN: 978-0-9829467-4-9
Number of pages: 325
Word Count: approximately 118,000
Book Description:
In a land ravaged by civil war, the Mage King Kedehen initiates a brutal purge of the Magas.
Fleeing his wrath, Eolyn, daughter of the last of the Magas and sole heiress to their forbidden tradition, seeks refuge in the South Woods. There she meets the mysterious boy Akmael, and forms a friendship that thrives on shared magic. Destiny leads them down a tortuous path of love, betrayal and war, until one day the Maga Eolyn takes up arms against the new Mage King.
Must Eolyn slay the man she loves in order to free herself and her people?
The answer lies in the extraordinary magic she commands, and in the hidden power of a Maga’s heart.
“Vigorously told deceptions and battle scenes. . . with a romantic thread." – Publishers Weekly
KARIN RITA GASTREICH was born near Kansas City, Missouri. After living and working for ten years as a tropical ecologist in Costa Rica, she recently returned to her home town and is now a Professor of Biology at Avila University. Her past times include camping, hiking, music and flamenco dance. Karin's fantasy novel EOLYN was released by Hadley Rille Books in May, 2011. The companion novel, HIGH MAGA, is scheduled for release in 2013. Karin’s short stories have appeared in Zahir, Adventures for the Average Woman, 69 Flavors of Paranoia, and A Visitor to Sandahl. She is a recipient of the Spring 2011 Andrews Forest Writer’s Residency.
Visit her at the blog for Eolyn, http://eolynchronicles.blogspot.com and at Heroines of Fantasy, co-authored with Terri-Lynne DeFino and Kim
Vandervort http://heroinesoffantasy.blogspot.com
Blog for Eolyn: http://eolynchronicles.blogspot.com
Blog Heroines of Fantasy: http://heroinesoffantasy.blogspot.com
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2 comments:
Wenona, thank you so much for hosting me today. Your blog is awesome! :)
The story sounds interesting, thanks for hosting the giveaway! :)
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