Guest Author Interview: S.M. Reine

Please welcome today's guest author S.M. Reine!  S.M. is the author of Six Moon Summer and The 19 Dragons.

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

SM:  The first thing I ever wrote was a story called "BATS!!!!!" (with a few more exclamation marks) on an Apple IIc+.  I was so young that I couldn't actually read, so I think I forced my poor, suffering mother to transcribe it for me.  It wasn't that bad as far as stories by sugar-spazzed children go.  It had a dilemma (she got a bat for her birthday and it escaped!) and there was drama (it flew around and got stuck in her hair!) but no real conclusion.  That was my real peak as a writer.  It doesn't get any better than bats.

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?

SM:  An early love of science fiction and fantasy like Star Trek, Quantum Leap, and too many comic books.  It never occurred to me there might be stories to tell about real life.  Boring!  I started writing plays about mutants in kindergarten, dragons in elementary school, vampires and demons in middle school, and never made my way into reality after that.

EJ:  If you could be any paranormal or have any one supernatural talent, what would it be? Why?

SM:  I would be invulnerable.  Immortality is overrated -- who wants to outlive their family? -- but invulnerability would give me the freedom to live my limited years without fear.  Think of what you could do if you knew nothing would harm you!  Of course, I would probably still spend all my time writing, but  I would be liberated from the terror of paper cuts.

EJ:  Tell us why readers will enjoy your new release.

SM:  Six Moon Summer is a unique look at werewolves that brings the element of horror back into the genre.  The hero is also super cute, which never hurts!  But the romance is really a minor subplot, and everyone seems to be enjoying it so far.  There's something for everyone: mystery, violence, romance, action, you name it.

EJ:  If your book(s) were being made into a movie, who would you cast for the leading roles? Why?

SM:  That's a really good question!  I haven't thought about it before.  My first reaction is to say that Evanna Lynch would make a fantastic Rylie and that Cam Gigandet could be Jericho, but casting Seth is much too hard.

Six Moon Summer (Seasons of the Moon, #1) by S.M. Reine.

Rylie's been bitten.  She's changing.  And now she has three months to find a cure before becoming a werewolf... forever.

Rylie's parents force her to attend summer camp, but she's just as miserable at the girls' camp as she was at home-- there's nothing vegetarian for her to eat at the mess hall, she hates hiking and archery, and the other campers taunt Rylie mercilessly. One night, the bullying goes too far, and Rylie runs away. She doesn't get far. It's a full moon, and she isn't alone in the forest.  She wakes up unharmed in her cabin the next morning with no memory of what happened. The only sign something has changed are the healed scars on her chest, her increasingly keen senses, and her sudden craving for raw, bloody meat.  A boy from the other camp seems to know what's happening to her, but Rylie isn't sure if she can trust herself with Seth. He's way too cute and he knows way too much.

Rylie soon learns that she only has until the end of summer before she becomes just like the monster that attacked her: a man-eating werewolf hungry for human flesh. Unless she can find a cure, she's going to transforming at the end of the summer and lose her life to the hunger.


Don't miss E.J.'s review of Six Moon Summer here.

Thank you S.M. for joining us here today at From the Shadows!

To learn more about S.M. Reine and her books, please visit her website.

The Well Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations to Ingvild winner of The Well Giveaway at From the Shadows!  Ingvild will receive a signed copy of The Well by Peter Labrow.

Thank you to all who entered.

**Giveaway winners selected using Random.org**

Character Interview: Kyrie (Blood of Requiem by Daniel Arenson)

Please welcome today's special guest Kyrie of Blood of Requiem by Daniel Arenson!  Daniel is author of Firefly Island, Flaming Dove, The Gods of Dream, Eye of the Wizard, and Blood of Requiem.

Daniel:  What is your favorite word?

Kyrie:  "Requiem." It's the home of my forefathers. The place I'm from, where people can shape shift into dragons.  A mythical land now in ruin. Someday I'll kill the man who destroyed our home.  Someday I'll rededicate Requiem's temples and rebuild her courts.

Daniel:  What is your least favorite word?

Kyrie:  "Irae."  It's the name of the man who burned Requiem, who killed my family, who drove me into exile.  I hate everything about him; his name, his beak nose, and his freakish metal arm.  I've fought him before.  Next time we meet, I won't let him get away.

Daniel:  What turns you on?

Kyrie:  Don't tell her I said this, but... Agnus Dei.  She's another survivor from Requiem.  She's eighteen—two years older than me—and she thinks I'm just a little boy.  But I can't help loving her.  She's so strong, beautiful, fiery.  She annoys me a lot, and she's endless trouble, but there's something about her I can't resist.

Daniel:  What turns you off?

Kyrie:  Her twin sister, Gloriae.  Now there's a girl I could do without.  If Agnus Dei is fire, Gloriae is ice.  If Agnus Dei is passion, Gloriae is hatred.   The girl is like a statue, so cold and hard and unyielding.  I hate everything about her.  I hate those green eyes of hers, which she thinks are so pretty. I hate her golden locks, which she's so vain of.  I hate those perfect lips of hers, which never seem to smile.  In short, Gloriae is horrible.

Daniel:  What sound or noise do you love?

Kyrie:  The waves outside Fort  Sanctus by the sea.  I spent ten years there. After Requiem fell, and we were hunted across the world, I hid in Fort Sanctus.  It's only a mossy tower rising over the sea, old and crumbly, but it was a home to me.

Daniel:  What sound or noise do you hate?

Kyrie:  Griffin shrieks.  The griffins toppled Requiem's courts, killed so many dragons, killed my family and friends.  They make horrible sounds, like eagles but louder, crueler.  I hope I never hear them again.

Daniel:  What is your favorite curse word?

Kyrie:  So many to choose from....  If pressed to choose, I'd have to say: griffinballs.  Can I say that here?

Daniel:  What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

Kyrie:  I'm not sure I currently have a profession.  I run a lot, and fight, and get hurt.  I suppose that makes me a warrior.  But that's not something I want.  I never wanted to fight. I've never harmed Irae and his griffins.  I'd love to just live simply, maybe be a farmer.  Maybe that sounds dumb.  Farming isn't very glamorous.  But I'd be happy living simply on a farm with Agnus Dei, raising some animals, raising some crops....  At nights, we'd sit by the fireplace, or watch the stars, and just talk for hours.  We wouldn't have to hide from griffins, or be ashamed that we can turn into dragons.

Daniel:  What profession would you not like to do?

Kyrie:  Anything indoors.  I wouldn't want to be a scribe, or priest, or cook, or clerk.  I like nature.  I like the sky.  I like shape shifting into a dragon and flying.  That's when I'm happiest; when I'm flapping my wings, tasting the clouds, and gliding high over the world.  Indoors too long, I wither.

Daniel:  If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

Kyrie:  We in Requiem believe that when we die, we travel to the constellation Draco, and dine there in starlight halls with our ancestors.  The Draco stars are our gods.  The souls of our forefathers, who joined those stars, guide and comfort us. When I die, my soul will go there too; I'll turn into starlight, and forever dine and drink among Requiem's fallen.  If the stars could talk, I'd like them to tell me:  Requiem will not be forgotten.  Her light will forever shine here, and it will shine again someday over the world below.

Blood of Requiem (Requiem Fire, #1) by Daniel Arenson

A new epic fantasy series begins. Requiem Fire tells a story of blood, steel, and dragonfire.

BOOK ONE: BLOOD OF REQUIEM

Long ago stood the kingdom of Requiem, a land of men who could grow wings and scales, breathe fire, and take flight as dragons. Requiem ruled the sky.

But Dies Irae, a tyrant leading an army of griffins, hunted Requiem's people, burned their forests, and shattered their temples. Requiem fell. This ancient land now lies in ruin, its halls crumbled, its cries silenced, its skeletons littering the burned earth.

In the wilderness, a scattering of survivors lives in hiding. The griffins still hunt them, and every day promises death. Will Requiem's last children perish in exile... or once more become dragons and fly to war?


Thank you Daniel and Kyrie for joining us here today at From the Shadows!

Don't miss our past interviews with Daniel and his amazing characters:

Author interview with Daniel Arenson.
Character interview with Eliven (The Gods of Dream).
Character interview with Neev and Romy (Eye of the Wizard).
E.J.'s review of Flaming Dove.

To learn more about Daniel Arenson and his books, please visit his website.