Goddess Tithe Cover Reveal

I am very very excited to part of the Goddess Tithe cover reveal! When I did water colors in my senior year blue was my favorite color to work with. This cover has a lot of blue tones and reminds me of water colors.

The Vengeful Goddess

Demands Her Tithe

When a stowaway is discovered aboard the merchant ship Kulap Kanya, Munny, a cabin boy on his first voyage, knows what must be done. All stowaways are sacrificed to Risafeth, the evil goddess of the sea. Such is her right, and the Kulap Kanya's only hope to return safely home.

Yet, to the horror of his crew, Captain Sunan vows to protect the stowaway, a foreigner in clown's garb. A curse falls upon the ship and all who sail with her, for Risafeth will stop at nothing to claim her tithe.

Will Munny find the courage to trust his captain and to protect the strange clown who has become his friend?

Cover Design Intro:

I had the fun of designing this cover—finding reference photos, inventing the composition, applying the text, etc.—but the actual artistic work was done by talented cover artist Phatpuppy (www.phatpuppyart.com), whose work I have admired for many years. It was such a thrill for me to contact and commission this artist to create a look for Goddess Tithe that is reminiscent of the original novels but has a style and drama all its own.

The boy on the front was quite a find. I hunted high and low for an image of a boy the right age, the right look, with the right expression on his face. Phatpuppy and I worked with a different model through most of the cover development stage. But then I happened upon this image, and both she and I were delighted with his blend of youth, stubbornness, and strength of character! It wasn’t difficult to switch the original boy for this young man. He simply is Munny, and this cover is a perfect window into the world of my story.

You can’t see it here, but the wrap-around back cover for the print copy contains some of the prettiest work . . . including quite a scary sea monster! Possibly my favorite detail is the inclusion of the ghostly white flowers framing the outer edge. These are an important symbol in the story itself, and when Phatpuppy sent me the first mock-up cover with these included, I nearly jumped out of my skin with excitement!

Elisabeth on the Illustrations in the book. 

Intro to Illustration:

There are eight full-page illustrations in Goddess Tithe featuring various characters and events from the story. This is the first one in the book. I decided to share it with all of you since it depicts my young hero, Munny the cabin boy, under the watchful eye of his mentor, the old sailor Tu Pich. Munny is on his first voyage, and he is determined to learn all there is to know about a life at sea as quickly as possible. Thus we see him utterly intent upon the knot he is learning to tie. Tu Pich is old enough to know that no sailor will ever learn all there is to know about the sea. Thus he looks on, grave, caring, and perhaps a little sad. He might be looking upon his own younger self of many years ago, fumbling through the hundreds of difficult knots his fingers must learn to tie with unconscious ease.

I enjoyed creating all the illustrations for Goddess Tithe, but this one was my favorite. I love the contrasts of light and dark, the contrasts of young and old . . . youthful intensity versus the perspective of age.

Now here is an excerpt from the story. 

Excerpt from the Story:

Here is an excerpt from the middle of the story. In this scene, Munny has been ordered to Captain Sunan’s cabin to clear away his breakfast . . . an unexpected task, for a lowly cabin boy would not ordinarily dare enter his captain’s private quarters! Munny hopes to slip in and out quietly without attracting the captain’s notice. But his hopes are dashed when Sunan addresses him, asking how their strange, foreign stowaway is faring:

__________

“And what do you make of him yourself?”

Munny dared glance his captain’s way and was relieved when his eyes met only a stern and rigid back. “I’m not sure, Captain,” he said. “I think he’s afraid. But not of . . .”

“Not of the goddess?” the Captain finished for him. And with these words he turned upon Munny, his eyes so full of secrets it was nearly overwhelming. Munny froze, his fingers just touching but not daring to take up a small teapot of fragile work.

The Captain looked at him, studying his small frame up and down. “No,” he said, “I believe you are right. Leonard the Clown does not fear Risafeth. I believe he is unaware of his near peril at her will, suffering as he does under a peril nearer still.”

Munny made neither answer nor any move.

“We will bring him safely to Lunthea Maly, won’t we, Munny?” the Captain said. But he did not speak as though he expected an answer, so again Munny offered none. “We will bring him safely to Lunthea Maly and there let him choose his own dark future.”

“I hope—” Munny began.

But he was interrupted by a sudden commotion on deck. First a rising murmur of voices, then many shouts, inarticulate in cacophony. But a pounding at the cabin door accompanied Sur Agung’s voice bellowing, “Captain, you’d best come see this!”

The Captain’s eyes widened a moment and still did not break gaze with Munny’s. “We’ll keep him safe,” he repeated. Then he turned and was gone, leaving the door open.

Munny put down the pot he held and scurried after. The deck was alive with hands, even those who were off watch, crawling up from the hatches and crowding the rails on the port side. They parted way for the Captain to pass through, but when Munny tried to follow, they closed in again, blocking him as solidly as a brick wall.

“Look! Look!” Munny heard voices crying.

“It’s a sign!”

“She’s warning us!”

“It’s a sign, I tell you!”

Fearing he knew not what, Munny ran for the center mast and climbed partway up, using the handholds and footholds with unconscious confidence. Soon he was high enough to see over the heads of the gathered crew, out into the blue waters of the ocean. And he saw them.

They were water birds. Big white albatrosses, smaller seagulls, heavy cormorants, even deep-throated pelicans and sleek, black-faced terns. These and many more, hundreds of them, none of which should be seen this far out to sea.

They were all dead. Floating in a great mass.

Munny clung to the mast, pressing his cheek against its wood. The shouts of the frightened sailors below faded away, drowned out by the desolation of that sight. Death, reeking death, a sad flotilla upon the waves.

“I’ve never seen anything like that.”

Munny looked down to where Leonard clung to the mast just beneath him, staring wide-eyed out at the waves. “How could this have happened? Were they sick? Caught in a sudden gale? Are they tangled in fishing nets?”

There was no fear in his voice. Not like in the voices of the sailors. He did not understand. He did not realize. It wasn’t his fault, Munny told himself.

But it was.

____________

Author Bio:

Anne Elisabeth Stengl makes her home in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she lives with her husband, Rohan, a kindle of kitties, and one long-suffering dog. When she’s not writing, she enjoys Shakespeare, opera, and tea, and practices piano, painting, and pastry baking. She studied illustration at Grace College and English literature at Campbell University. She is the author of the Tales of Goldstone Wood, including Heartless, Veiled Rose, Moonblood, Starflower, and Dragonwitch. Heartless and Veiled Rose have each been honored with a Christy Award, and Starflower was voted winner of the 2013 Clive Staples Award.

                                                               ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here is super cool giveaway for you to enter. :) 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review and Giveaway: Dragonwitch

Title: Dragonwitch
Author: Anne Elisabeth Stengl
Rating: 5/5
Book Summary: Submissive to her father’s will, Lady Leta of Aiven travels far to meet a prospective husband she neither knows nor loves–Lord Alistair, future king of the North Country.

But within the walls of Gaheris Castle, all is not right. Vicious night terrors plague Lord Alistair to the brink of insanity. Whispers rise from the family crypt. The reclusive castle Chronicler, Leta’s tutor and friend, possesses a secret so dangerous it could cost his life and topple the North Country into civil war.

And far away in a hidden kingdom, a fire burns atop the Temple of the Sacred Flame. Acolytes and priestesses serve their goddess to the limits of their lives and deaths. No one is safe while the Dragonwitch searches for the sword that slew her twice…and for the one person who can wield it.

I first fell in love with Miss Stengl's writing after I read Heartless. She captured my attention with her realistic character, fictional countries, and gripping story line. In all the books I have read since she has not lost her touch. In fact she keeps getting better and better. I really enjoy they stories and how they connect to other stories. You almost want to make a kind of poster connecting them. 

An author's writing improves with time and practice. Anne Stengl has always been able to write a wonderful story however,  I feel that her writing has 'grown up' since the first book. Her development of characters has improved. Her ability to write a story that is in such a grand scale is fantastic. I feel like her writing has improved and changed for the better. 

Dragonwitch is perhaps one of the most fascinating of her books so far. From the very first book I felt Miss Stengl understood people. She could pull together the best qualities of a person and the darkest. She even grasps and helps the readers of her books to understand what can cause someone to become so bitter or evil. I feel that this quality is at its finest in Dragonwitch. 

Dragonwitch features many new characters which means some new names. Making up names is a talent that I highly admire in authors, that would be because I am so bad at it. All her names sound so Medieval or like something out of Lord of The Rings. Miss Stengl is brilliant with names. 

I identified with so many of the characters in this book. They all have little bits of things that I completely and totally understand and are so me sometimes. I think this is what makes her books so loved. People see parts of themselves. 

I really enjoyed seeing more of Imraldera and Eanrin. They are one of the most steady characters throughout the series, and with each book we learn more about them. Perhaps the thing I like most about this book (and all of Anne Elisabeth Stengl's books) is that the characters are believable. They don't have the fake or phony feel that so many other Christian fiction characters have. Her stories despite being fantasy feel like they could be true because there are so many elements that we all can identify with. She paints them with words that give detail to her story and bring it to life in the readers mind. I am going to find it impossible to wait for her next book to come out!  

I am very very excited to tell you that I am also able to offer a giveaway  of one copy of Dragonwitch. This is my first giveaway that I have done so please bear with me as I do this. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I received this book from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for a review. 

Author Interview: Anne Elisabeth Stengl

I am so very excited to be a part of the tour for Dragonwitch! As part of this tour I was able to interview Miss Stengl.  I hope you will hop on over to her blog Tales of Goldstone Wood. I am so excited for the release of this next book in her delightful series.

1. What inspired you to write fantasy?

Oddly enough, I know the exact moment I was inspired. I was about eleven years old, and I had been writing cat stories up until that point, just fun little adventures about a kitten named Berry and all his various friends. But my father was reading The Lord of the Rings out loud to us, and I was caught up in the story.

                

One night, in particular, he read the scene in which Frodo is pursued by the Black Riders to the ford at Rivendale. I was so enthralled at the idea of one so small, facing such enormous odds! The image in my head of little Frodo at the river, and those awful riders bearing down upon him . . . it was thrilling and dreadful and wonderful all at once!

And I decided I would write a fantasy myself.

Mine was . . . a little less thrilling, dreadful, or wonderful. It was about a cat, naturally. A magical, sarcastic, wish-granting cat whom all the neighboring kings wanted to find and control. It was a bit silly, really . . . but I have always enjoyed writing about cats! (And now you know why I write fantasy and how Eanrin came to be . . .)

2. Many of you later stories are referenced in earlier books. Did this take a lot of planning or just happen? 

Um, kind of both, I think. Some of the later stories were conceived before the first three published stories, so I always thought of them as foundational material for Heartless, Veiled Rose, and Moonblood. I always intended to write them, so made free with the references early on. But sometimes I would make reference to a story I hadn’t actually thought of yet. Just a brief reference . . . and suddenly I’d find an entire story taking shape! Shadow Hand is an example of that. Or, in the case of the “Night of Moonblood” referenced in Moonblood, I had written the epic poem years before . . . but then, after Moonblood was published, I got the idea for a full length novel about the original event.

Which is the novel I am currently writing.

So, it’s sort of both. They all connect back to and lead into each other. It makes sense in my head, at least!

3. Your write a lot of poetry and songs in your books. Have you thought about compiling a separate book with all the Goldstone poetry? 

I don’t consider myself a very good poet. That’s actually why I decided to make the most famous bard and poetic influence in my world be actually a rather terrible poet (at least, according to Lionheart!).  Everyone thinks he’s great, but we are all secretly laughing up our sleeves at him.

Making Eanrin a terrible poet took a lot of pressure off of me! But I still enjoy trying to write his various songs and verses and sometimes (accidentally), Eanrin writes a decent piece! The “Night of Moonblood” epic, for instance, or the “Song of Fireword” sung by the sylph in Veiled Rose. I am honestly proud of both of those pieces!

But actually compiling them into a separate book? Not sure. I have seriously considered producing a collection of short stories related to Goldstone Wood, and toyed with the idea of including poetry in that. Maybe I’ll actually do it one day . . . maybe . . .

4. Do you have a favorite book, one that is dear to your heart, of the ones you have written? 

My favorite is always the one I just finished. Right now, that means Shadow Hand . . . and the Super-Secret project, which I’ll be announcing soon!

I will say that both Starflower and Dragonwitch were particularly satisfying to write, since they were ideas I had many years before Heartless. I had tried to write both of them in various forms before, but not succeeded. I needed to improve my own writing skills first, and the first three Goldstone Wood novels provided valuable learning experience!

5. Who are your favorite characters and which characters do you identify with most? 

Well, my favorite character has to be Eanrin! (Have I mentioned that I’m a crazy cat lady?)

I identify with all of the characters in some way or another, both good characters and bad. They are all little pieces of me, taken and shaped and explored. When I wrote her, Princess Una was very much an extreme reflection of myself (I wasn’t quite that silly!), and later on, my husband told me that he thought Imraldera was a lot like me. But I tend to see myself more in little aspects of each character rather than in any character as a whole.

6. What author(s) most inspire you? 

C.S. Lewis will always be a huge inspiration. Sir Terry Pratchett and Diana Wynne Jones are enormous favorites—I would like to be either one of them when I grow up! George MacDonald’s short stories are always within grabbing distance if I need a reminder of why I love fairy tales. I also turn to some of the great poets for ideas and inspiration, particularly Shakespeare and Browning, both of whom I adore.

7. If you were to pick another genre to write in which would it be and why? 

Hmmm . . . I suppose I’d pick historical. I enjoy researching even for fantasies, though there’s a lot more flexibility in the research for fantasy! But I think I could probably find a way to enjoy writing historicals almost as much as fairy tales.

8. When you were just starting out as an author was there a piece of advice that you were given that made all the difference to you? What advice would you give to authors who are just starting out? 

The most important thing I learned was to become a good reader. I pursued an English literature degree at university, and it was the best choice I could have made as an aspiring author. The better reader you are, the better writer you will be!

My advice to young writers is always: Read, read, read!!! Read the greats and study them, pick them apart, figure out what makes them great. Read TONS of material in the genre you want to write, figuring out which styles and ideas you like, which you don’t care for so much. Read in genres you don’t always care for, read non-fiction now and then, and makes certain you ingest a healthy diet of poetry, because there is nothing quite like poetry to inspire great prose (even if, like me, you’re a sad little poet!).

And, of course, the flip side of read, read, read is write, write, write! The more you write, the better you’ll get. Don’t wait until you know what you’re doing . . . because if you wait, you’ll never learn. Writing is like learning a musical instrument. You don’t learn to play a concerto by sitting around wishing you knew how. You practice for hours and hours and hours!

So, basically: read, read, read/write, write, write. That’s my advice!

As part of the blog tour Miss Stengl is having a fantastic giveaway! you can enter to win all 5 Tales of Goldstone Wood books.

a Rafflecopter giveaway



Here is the tour schedule. Be sure to check out all these blogs! They are all doing something for the tour. You do not want to miss them! ;)

Tour Schedule

July 14 - Day 1

Rebecca's Book Blog - Interview

Jennette Mbewe - Sneak Peek

Bluerose's Heart - Top Tens List

The Wordsmith's Shelf - Sneak Peek

The Wonderings of One Person - Guest Post

Seasons of Humility - Interview

Worthy 2 Read - Guest Post

The Endless Road - Interview

Tea and Bree - Interview/Sneak Peek

JoJo's Corner - Interview

July 15 - Day 2

Letters to the Cosmos - Guest Post

The Writer of Dream Things - Character Interview

The Sassy Sister - Sneak Peek

Makai Queen - Interview

JoJo's Corner - Sneak Peek

Crafty Booksheeps - Interview
Young Adult Books - Sneak Peek
Darling Diaries - Interview
Blooming with Books - Interview/Sneak Peek

July 16 - Day 3

The Writer's Window - Character Interview

Penning Praises - Guest Post

Crimilia - Interview

Rachel Herriman – Guest Post

Rina's Reading – Top Tens List

JoJo's Corner - Guest Post

Living On Literary Lane - Interview

Onto Her Bookshelf - Interview

An Ink-Made Maiden - Interview

July 16 Evening

Blog Tour Finale and Prize Awarded back at the Tales of Goldstone Wood!

Shadow Hand Cover Reveal!!!!

I am so excited to be part of the Cover Reveal for Shadow Hand. Anne Elisabeth Stengl's 6th book in the

"Tales of Goldstone Wood" series. I feel in love with her books from the moment I picked up Heartless. All of the covers are breath taking. This one does not disappoint. It is just gorgeous! I made my sisters come over and look at it and they gave the appropriate "ohs" an "ahh." :)

Here is her blog for Shadow Hand

"She Will Take Your Own Two Hands

To Save Your Ancient, Sorrowing Lands."

"By her father's wish, Lady Daylily is betrothed to the Prince of Southlands. Not the prince she loves, handsome and dispossessed Lionheart, but his cousin, the awkward and foolish Prince Foxbrush. Unable to bear the future she sees as her wedding day dawns, Daylily flees into the dangerous Wilderlands, her only desire to vanish from living memory.

But Foxbrush, determined to rescue his betrothed, pursues Daylily into a new world of magic and peril, a world where vicious Faerie beasts hold sway, a world invaded by a lethal fey parasite . . . 

A world that is hauntingly familiar."

I am also very pleased to share her giveaway. The giveaway item is a mug that has the above banner on it. Something nice to drink while you read her books. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

On the 4th Day of Christmas

Everyone will go and enter Shealynn's 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway Extravaganza!!!

She has so many things that she is giving away you really do not want to miss this. Her blog is also a great inspiration for being more artistic and creative. I would really recommend her blog to anyone who is even remotely interested in crafts.

Here are what she is giving away so far!
Anything from her shoppe that does not exceed $30. Here are a few of my favorite pieces. :)

There is also an awesome perfume shoppe called Sarawen Perfume Art. If you are a well read person you will love her scents. Her Harry Potter ones made me smile. :)  Shealynn is giving away a Middle Earth Inspired Perfume Sampler. 

And then there is Third Wind Studies. Hand made glass ornaments and jewelry. They are really spectacular and lovely! The giveaway is a Hobbit inspired pendent "Arkenstone."

And Also Foxwise. This is another Fan inspired shoppe. It is a must go to if you are a Whovian, Potter head,or Tribute. :) Here is one of the Giveaway peaces.

There are still more days for Christmas and I cannot wait to see what other wonderful and delightful things Shealynn will be giving away. You all really should go check it out! :) 

Merry Christmas 

~Elizabeth 

A must enter Giveaway!

Go check out this giveaway at Austenitis!! She is giving away the above book by Anne Elisabeth Stengl. I have read her book Hearless and did a review of it here. It is definitely one of my favorites, and I recommend it to everyone.

I was so excited to find out that she had written other books. Now to go on a book hunt!

My mom is having a give away

My mom is having a give away at her blog Circling Through this life. She is giving away the book What is he Thinking by Rebecca St. James. I have read a very small part of this book. It looks interesting though. If you are interested you should go over and check it out, and perhaps enter her give away. :) Click here to enter

Blessings

~Elizabeth

Bramblewood Fashion give a way!!

Ashley over at Bramblewood Fashion is having a HUGE give a way for her 21st birthday!! Happy Birthday Ashley!

She has multiple post for lots and lots of lovely things! I would highly recommend going over there and entering for some of them! :) Here are just a small fraction of the many things that she is giving a way!

Some lovely fabric!
Some lovely earrings from one of my favorite shoppes! Shealynn's Faerie Shoppe!

I love this bag!
A lovely necklace!

I hope you enter!

Blessings

~Elizabeth

Shealynn's Faerie Shoppe Give Away!

Shealynn over at Shealynn's Faerie Shoppe is having a give away! I love all of her jewelry, and she is offering for the winner to pick which one they want!

Here are just a few of her lovely pieces.

Go on over an join the give away!

Blessings

~Elizabeth

Give away at Erratic Muse!

Erratic Muse is having a HUGE give away with lots of Shakespeary things! Here are just a few of the lovely things that are being given away!


This is a very cool pendant.
I love this one it has such soft colors and is so feminine!

I like this one for the same reasons as state for the one above. :)

Shakespeare was one of the masters of language. He knew how to say things that would make people think, and react. I love the words that he uses!

Some of my first introductions to Shakespeare were through Usborne, they have a book that is a collection of Shakespeare's plays told in story form. I loved to read the stories!

I really enjoy Twelfth Night. The story always makes me laugh. We watched once a filmed version, but it was play form. So it had sets, it was not like a movie, It was like a stage. It was very good, and my sisters enjoyed it too. We all laughed when Malvolieo was reading the letter and the others were listening in. :) That was our favorite part.