Guest Post & Giveaway: Storm of Arranon

Today I have a special Guest Post to share with you from R.E. Sheahan!  She talks about the mystical animals in her book-Storm of Arranon!  You still have a few more days to enter the giveaway at the bottom of the post! AND now I'm going to shut up and let her take over!

Guest Post from R.E. Sheahan:

First, I want to thank you Tess for giving me the opportunity to submit a guest author post, an excerpt from my book, and an interview!

I anxiously await your review of Storm of Arranon!

I considered writing this guest post about the book itself. The adventures of Erynn, a young woman stranded on a strange and dangerous world, Arranon. Repetitive. This information is available on my website, Goodreads, and everywhere the book is listed for sale.

Or maybe I could tell a little about Erynn herself and the secret that separates her from everyone else at Academy on Korin. Kinda already been done, too.

Then there’s Jaer, the Anbas Warrior of Arranon, sworn to defend Erynn, whether she wants him to protect her or not. Again, a previous  post on a website.

Faylen was also a possibility for a post. The alien soldier, shaped from childhood into a physically powerful killing machine. Sent to find and capture Erynn and force her to use her abilities to advance the enemy’s invasion of her worlds. A new idea, but the possibility to spoil some surprises kept me from writing about Faylen.

These thoughts led me to a group of characters that often go overlooked. 

The animals.

I love animals. Dogs, horses, cats, all animals, domestic and wild. That’s why in writing Storm of Arranon I felt it was important to have animals play a significant part in the story. Even if they are from another world. They gave me the occasion to expand my protagonist’s-Erynn’s gifts. For her to grow as a person, and as a heroine. 

I was also able to conceive of and create some very cool creatures! 

So, without any spoilers, let me introduce the feathered, winged, or furry and four legged cast.

Aleuns, basically, they’re birds.

Asador are elk like animals, with wide antlers, but overall, they are bigger than an average elk by a couple hundred pounds.

Caporas are horses. Large, muscular horses with thick hair, long manes and tails. The draft horse would be a good fit.

Centinents. A generality for insects, winged or crawly. 

Katjaramuud. Hmmm. Picture a bobcat, only as big as a bear, and carnivorous, top of the food chain, including humans.

Maejen. Wolves, intelligent, cunning, and deadly. Again, much larger than earthly wolves.

(A by-the-way note here. Everything on Arranon is super-sized!)

Meerats. Easy, think rat and all that goes with that thought.

Meervorines, they are a little less straightforward. More a combination of a mole and a wolverine, but again, bigger, the size of a pig. Lots of teeth, beady yellow eyes, and razor sharp, clawed paws. But like moles and wolverines, they live underground and are not at all friendly.

Mwirr, an octopus like creature that only receives a brief mention. 

Well, there you have the animal characters.

A little something that is not widely known and has never been discussed, except in the book is . . . Erynn communicates with the animals of Arranon. Only she doesn’t always know how to go about this, often complicating an already challenging situation. Shhhh!

Giveaway

1 lucky person will win a signed copy of Storm of Arranon and a signed poster!

fill out the rafflecopter below to enter

being a follower is not mandatory but it is appreciated

US only

must be 13 or older to enter

please reply to winning email in 48 hours or I will pick a new winner

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Interview & Giveaway: R.E. Sheahan

Today I have an interview with R.E. Sheahan to share with you!  Don't forget to go to the bottom of the post and enter the giveaway!

What inspired you to become an author?

I am a reader. I love books. All kinds of books. I love movies, old and new. I would think after finishing a book or a watching a movie, “What if the hero hadn’t saved the girl, but she had saved him? What if the bad guy was actually good, deep down inside, and he’d saved everyone? What if this all took place on another world, or in the past, or the future?” The ‘what ifs’ began to invade my dreams, pop into my head while working, and just plain made a pest of themselves. So I started to write them down now and then. I called it a ‘creative release’, and it worked, for a while. Until a character from a far away world and another time demanded more of my attention. Four years ago the writing of Storm of Arranon began. I now have the fourth book in the series in outline form and a line-up of other stories waiting their turn.

When you're not writing, what do you like to do?

I Read! 

I enjoy movie and game night with friends and family.

I used to show horses when I was a kid and am starting to ride again. It’s that balance of mind and body, connecting, and communicating with your horse.

Then there’s Zumba, dance exercise. I have been called a Zumba junkie!

I belong to an Improv group. I was told by some of the greats, James Scott Bell and Robert Dugoni, that acting is part of writing. I agree!

What is the writing process like for you? (Do you plot? Listen to music while writing? etc...)

First, I have never written from an outline.

I see the characters and what is happening with them like a movie in my mind as I’m writing. I can slow the action, rewind, fast-forward, or freeze frame. If I don’t like where the story is going, I back-up from the last point I was happy and take things another direction. Same with dialog.

Music is great and often helps me when I’m feeling a little stuck. Kelly Clarkson and Adele have saved me from many locked doors. But I don’t listen while I write. I do like to have TV, or some background noise though.

If you were on a deserted island, and you could only take 4 books, what books would you bring?

Dean Koontz- Fear Nothing and Seize the Night, the Christopher Snow Novels, just because I get so into the story.

Sue Grafton- Q is for Quarry, of the Kinsey Milhone series. I love Kinsey’s attitude!

Stephen King- IT, for those dark and stormy nights.

What is one thing the world should know about you?

I’m really quite shy. Getting my books and stories out there for the world to see and read is difficult. They are my soul, my heart, a bit of myself. But I believe in my stories, so I took the next step and published!

Thanks for stopping by and answering questions for us, R.E. 

Giveaway

1 lucky person will win a signed copy of Storm of Arranon and a signed poster!

fill out the rafflecopter below to enter

being a follower is not mandatory but it is appreciated

US only

must be 13 or older to enter

please reply to winning email in 48 hours or I will pick a new winner

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Indie Revolution Giveaway: R.E. Sheahan

In the next few days, I will have R.E. Sheahan on the blog!  Hopefully by the end you and I will know all about her and her debut Storm of Arranon! So what do you say we get started off with the blurb and excerpt?

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N 

Beneath Erynn's petite build, curly red hair, and startling blue eyes, lies a deeply hidden secret.If the truth about her were revealed, her life would be in danger. Her dream to be a fighter pilot would tailspin,crash, and burst into flames.
Jaer's wise brown eyes reflect his smoldering strength. An enigma, charismatic and moody, he is a physically powerful warrior who defends his world. A warrior afraid to love because of mistakes in his past.
When the presence of a marauding alien society is discovered on their planets, a struggle of life and death begins. Both Erynn and Jaer's worlds face annihilation.
A mysterious force plunges Erynn into Jaer's cold, dangerous, and beautiful world with its magical essence and living consciousness. Both the alien enemy and this strange inexplicable power purse Erynn.

and now for an excerpt!

The ship was directly over them, above the cloud cover. The hum of engines hesitated. Erynn imagined the scan touching her, hot and stinging, setting her on fire. 

     Would they just start firing on us from the ship’s weaponry? Did they want me alive or would my lifeless body be good enough? 

     She glanced around and blocked the groan building in her throat.

     Make that fourteen lifeless bodies.

     She held her breath. The night stilled, the air around her thickened with the scent of hot ozone. A low thrum reverberated in her bones. Her eardrums vibrated uncomfortably. Under the throb, she heard the droning rise in pitch. Engines accelerated. The distance between them and ship quickly lengthened. The pulsing sensation in her ears eased. Erynn exhaled and stared wide-eyed at men on caporas packed in around her. 

     The ship scanned us, assumed we were one of the larger animals, or a herd. That was why we rode so closely packed.

     “Camouflaged,” she whispered. “That was incredible.”

     Jaer glanced back. “I told you I could take care of this. You should trust me.” 

     “I do trust you.” She jerked her head toward the sky. “It’s them I don’t trust.” Erynn recognized how badly this would have gone had they run as she suggested. “I would have never thought of trying something like that.” She craned her neck around his shoulder to look at his face. “How do you know these things?”

     He smiled. “On Arranon, you can learn from the life around you. Simple tricks. I have seen kinnen join a group of bonthar to escape a predator. The kinnen hop into the center of a family of bonthar feeding on grass and young leaves.” He shrugged. “Hidden. Nothing attacks bonthar. Not even the katjaramuud.”

     Erynn tipped her head, still watching him. The sound of his voice resonated, touched a deep region in her she didn’t know existed. “Why?” She only expected one answer to this double-edged question.

     Jaer laughed, further waking that unexplored territory in her. “Bonthar have barbed quills that carry a poison. It does not kill, but will cause an unpleasant illness. They also release a thick, noxious spray.” He shivered, shaking his head.

     “Ah,” Erynn chuckled. “Sounds like you’ve had a close encounter.”

     “More than one,” he mumbled, still grinning. “As a child, did you . . . experiment with your surroundings, and get yourself into troubling situations?”

     “Oh constantly.” She laughed lightly. 

     “Yes, I believe you did.” Jaer’s amusement tickled along her nerves.

     On the next pass, the ship was to her right, the course shifting away from them. The caporas continued their unhurried gait until the rumble of engines was once more only a distant low drone. 

     Jaer signaled to his men. “Hold on,” he said again. 

     Erynn put her arms around Jaer. The caporas separated. She felt the animal tense under her. Powerful muscles exploded into action, urged into a gallop. The gait was smooth and agile, the stride long. She held on, carried swiftly over the packed soil of the trail. They rode at this speed for a long time, the caporas never tiring. 

     The tops of the trees turned gold with the rising sun. Chattering and whooping sounds joined the soft chirping, keeping a rhythm with hooves on solid ground. Erynn was so intent on the colors and sounds of the dawn she almost missed the first sight of the city.

Giveaway

1 lucky person will win a signed copy of Storm of Arranon and a signed poster!

fill out the rafflecopter below to enter

being a follower is not mandatory but it is appreciated

US only

must be 13 or older to enter

please reply to winning email in 48 hours or I will pick a new winner

a Rafflecopter giveaway