Hi,
I’m fantasy author Sarah Ashwood, and I have a
confession to make: I’ve only written a couple of blog posts before, so please
bear with me as we go through this. When Lindsey kindly offered a spot on her
blog for me to chat about my new book, I struggled with what to say. Of
course, I could try to tell you the plot without giving away spoilers. (Unless
you happen to be like me and actually like
spoilers. I admit it, I’m that
person—that horrible person who loves spoilers! I always read the end of the
book before I reach it to see what happens.) Confessions aside, it was
suggested I highlight what’s unique about this book and hopefully makes it
stand out in the fantasy genre, so let me go there.
To begin with, Aerisian Refrain is the first book in a
brand new series called Beyond the Sunset
Lands. It’s a planned four book series, and it’s a companion series to my Sunset Lands Beyond trilogy. It’s set in
the same world, but you do not have to have read the first trilogy to read Aerisian Refrain. I tried to include
enough information in Aerisian Refrain
that readers new to my world wouldn’t be lost. So, these books, the first
trilogy and this new series, are epic fantasy and portal fantasy, but they’re
also heavily tinged with a fairytale influence, because I grew up on fairytales
and still love them. You’ll meet characters and races in my books that you may
not see as much in standard epic fantasy, like fairies and giants and unicorns.
I enjoy mixing it up: I also have pirates based off 18th century
buccaneers, as well as an army patterned after the military of ancient Rome.
(Ancient Rome is another obsession of mine.)
Those are some of the fun features
of my world building. As for Aerisian
Refrain itself, what makes this particular book unique is that my MC, Annie
Richards, is from Oklahoma and is part Cherokee. I’m a lifelong Okie myself,
and grew up in the part of the state where the Cherokees have their capital. I’ve
always been intrigued by Cherokee history and culture. I didn’t actually set
Annie where I’m from, however. I had her grow up out in the panhandle of
Oklahoma, which is sparsely populated. I’ve driven through there a couple of
times, and thought it was such a wild, beautiful place. It was very inspiring
to the background of this book, and formative to Annie’s character.
Now, Native Americans are not
heavily featured in epic fantasy literature or
art, the latter of which was a little frustrating when I was writing this book.
I like to create Pinterest boards for each of my books and save pins for
characters that I find inspirational. It drove me crazy that I had such a
difficult time finding any epic-fantasy-type art featuring Native Americans. I
wanted so badly to find a picture of a Native American girl with a dragon, and
never did. One of my favorite scenes of Aerisian
Refrain is where Annie sings a Cherokee lullaby to a dragon. I would’ve
loved a pin that resembled this scene in any way. Couldn’t find it, but in my
searching I ultimately did discover the art of Traci Rabbit, a Cherokee artist
from Oklahoma. That’s a whole ‘nother story, but I mention it because I fell
deeply in love with Ms. Rabbit’s work, with its blend of heritage and fantasy, and
I think it’s well worth mentioning.
But back to what I was saying.
When I realized in the course of plotting that Annie was going to be from
Oklahoma and that she was part Cherokee, I knew I had to delve into Cherokee
culture and heritage and weave elements of that into my book. Cherokee
mythology and folklore are chock full of interesting characters and stories.
Honestly, it was very hard to narrow them down, but I finally settled on three
prominent figures that absolutely fascinated me. The first was a Kâ'lanû Ahkyeli'skï: a Raven Mocker. This creature is scary. I mean, scary. I read
up on stories about Raven Mockers that had me looking over my shoulder at
night. (I get spooked easily.) Check out this moment from Aerisian Refrain
when Annie first encounters the Kâ'lanû Ahkyeli'skï :
I
would’ve run, but where could I go? There were probably still people on the
road, people to whom I couldn’t risk leading the Raven Mocker, a creature so
powerful that, according to the Cherokee legends I’d heard, other witches flee
before their kind. The raven-like cry of a Kâ'lanû Ahkyeli'skï, which is where the
Raven Mocker earns it name, means someone is going to die—much like banshees in
Irish folklore. Often, they appear when a person is dying to steal and consume
the liver or the heart. Sometimes they torture and kill their victim by cutting
open the head, then eating the heart. A year is added to their life for every
year their victim would have lived, making a Raven Mocker almost immortal, and
accounting for their appearance as an old, wizened man or woman when in human
form. They can fly through the air in fiery bird shape, trailing sparks while
in the sky, which is what confirmed the identity of the woman standing in front
of me. They are usually invisible, except to the most powerful of magic
workers. Like me. Only a medicine man or woman of much training and strength
can stand against them, which meant I was in serious danger.
The
other two characters I chose to feature are a little more benevolent. One group
are the Thunderers, who Cherokee believe are storm spirits that live in the
sky. Thunderers are usually benevolent to humans, and sometimes even helpful.
The same with the last figure from Cherokee folklore, a Stoneclad, or rock
giant. I loved the Stoneclad. He almost made me think of a Marvel character.
There weren’t tons of descriptions of Stoneclads, but most of my research
indicated they are giants that wear a suit of armor fashioned from stone. Like
the Thunderers, they aren’t feared by the Cherokee—certainly not like the Raven
Mockers. In fact, there are stories of them coming to the aid of the Cherokee.
As Annie explains in Aerisian Refrain
when she’s discussing her people’s folklore,
“I remember Grandma telling me about the Stoneclads:
rock giants, and the Aniyvdaqualosgi
or Ani-Yuntikwalaski. Those are
the Thunderers, or powerful storm
spirits. If they took a shape, it was usually human, and they were okay with
people. I guess it’s no wonder we’d have legends about great storm spirits,
living in Tornado Alley.”
At this point in the book, Annie has no idea she’s going to actually
encounter rock giants or storm spirits, and she’s in a for a big surprise when
she does!
So there you go—a little peek into what I feel makes my book baby
unique. I hope you’ll check out Aerisian Refrain, and, if you do, I hope
you enjoy it! I had so much fun researching the stories of the Cherokee and
weaving just a few elements from their rich traditions into this novel. If
you’d like to research any of this further, some of my favorite
sources were http://www.native-languages.org/
and www.cherokeeregistry.com
and www.firstpeople.us
and http://www.sacred-texts.com/nam/index.htm.
Also, if you’d like to see the art of Traci Rabbit, this is her website: https://billandtracirabbit.com/ .
Thanks for reading my blog post and giving me a little of your time.
Have a great day!
Don’t believe all
the hype. Sarah Ashwood isn’t really a gladiator, a Highlander, a fencer, a
skilled horsewoman, an archer, a magic wielder, or a martial arts expert.
That’s only in her mind. In real life, she’s a genuine Okie from Muskogee who
grew up in the wooded hills outside the oldest town in Oklahoma and holds a
B.A. in English from American Military University. She now lives (mostly) quietly at home with her husband and three
sons, where she tries to sneak in a daily run or workout to save her sanity and
keep her mind fresh for her next story.
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