Today I'm happy to bring you a guest post from Tammy Farrell, sharing
little known details about her debut historical fantasy release, The Darkness of Light. Be sure to
check out her fantastic giveaway at the end of this post.
10 Things You Didn’t Know About THE DARKNESS OF LIGHT
by Tammy Farrell
1. The main character used to contemporary vampires. In different versions of the story they lived in Toronto, New York and even Pennsylvania. I could never make those settings work, though and so I decided to set them in the 6th century.
2. In the contemporary versions of The Darkness of Light, Corbin worked as a bouncer and Mara was a waitress. Malcolm was some mysterious millionaire. He never liked to work, even then. ;)
3. I wrote The Darkness of Light while listening to a combination of Ed Sheeran and Within Temptation and I would listen to that playlist over and over and over for months. I listened to Ed Sheeran when writing the more romantic moments between Mara and Corbin. And I listened to Within Temptation when writing the more intense, angry moments that Mara experienced.
4. The character, Rowan, is inspired by Merlin in Arthurian legend. I really love the legend of King Arthur and have always had a fascination with Merlin. He’s such an ambiguous character—is he good, is he bad, is he both? I wanted Rowan to reflect some of that mystery.
5. Corbin is also inspired by Arthurian legend. I molded him from my image of King Arthur. Corbin is an honorable character and embodies all of the qualities that I think King Arthur does. Even his name—Corbin—has an Arthurian connection. “Corbin Castle” is the name of the castle of the grail in Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur.
6. The character Annora was originally intended to be an antagonist. She was supposed to be a jealous, haughty snob when I first created her. But as I put her on paper, her personality just came out as sweet and shy. I couldn’t steer her any other way. She definitely made her own rules through the writing process.
7. The original title of The Darkness of Light was The Keeper’s Daughter. I’m not sure when or why I changed it, but I think I like the new title better.
8. In the novel, Valenia is a veiled fortress on the shores of Devon County England. While Valenia is fictional, it was inspired by the ruins of Dunluce Castle in County Antrim, Ireland. When I was describing Valenia in the novel, I was always looking at a picture of Dunluce Castle.
9. This book was written and drafted four times without an ending. I still don’t know if that’s just the way I write, or if I wasn’t sure how to end it. I knew I’d have to go back and rewrite it a few more times and for some reason, I felt like ending it in the early writing phase was bad luck.
10. In the original ending of The Darkness of Light, no one wins. Without giving too much away, the new ending has a glimmer of hope for the characters. When I wrote the first ending, no one triumphed and everyone was unhappy. I didn’t want to leave it that way, so I added in a few revisions and found the perfect balance.
The Darkness of Light
The
Dia Chronicles
Book
One
Tammy
Farrell
Genre: Historical Fantasy
ISBN-13: 978-1492766582
ISBN-10: 1492766585
Number of pages: 375
Word Count: 90,000
Cover Artist: Nathalia Suellen
Book
Description:
The world has long forgotten
them, but their descendants live on, not wholly mortal or god, but something in
between…
At the dawn of the sixth century,
in the aftermath of her mother’s brutal execution, Mara Black is forced to flee
the only life she has ever known.
Mara can tell she’s different,
but isn't sure why. After she encounters two mysterious strangers, she
discovers her secret is but a drop in an ocean of many. She is a Dia, a
descendant of ancient gods, and her mother sacrificed herself to protect Mara
from their past.
Summoned by an uncle she didn't
know existed, Mara thinks she’s found the family she’s always wanted, and
Corbin, a love she never thought possible. But not everything is as it seems.
Her uncle has other motives for protecting her, and her mentor, Malcolm,
becomes so jealous, he’ll do anything to get what he wants.
When tragedy strikes, and the
true darkness among them comes to light, Mara discovers that sometimes love can
give you everything, and obsession can take it all away. With her powers gone,
and destiny calling, she has to look deep within to find the courage to save
herself. Mara, along with Corbin and her newfound family, must fight to get
back what was taken, or die trying.
Available in ebook and Paperback
Add it to your Goodreads list
Excerpt:
The
man in the long black robe bellowed out to the crowd. “By order of King Gerren
of the realm of Dumnonia, we are not to tolerate evil among us.” He pointed his
finger at the accused woman on the platform. Corbin used his keen sight to
examine her. She looked wretched, defeated, and certainly not one of their
kind. Could Rowan have been mistaken?
Corbin
turned to Malcolm. “Are they charging her with witchcraft?”
Malcolm
nodded with a smirk. “It appears that way. Fools. They waste their time looking
for witches. They have no idea what walks amongst them.”
They
were half way through the crowd when Corbin felt a chill, like lightening, as
his arm brushed against someone. He walked a few paces and stopped, making sure
to keep his face concealed within his hood. He saw a girl, barely a woman,
standing on her toes to see over the shoulders in front of her.
“That’s
her,” Malcolm whispered. “That’s Mara.”
Her
expression was panicked, and she didn’t seem to notice Corbin staring at her.
“Should we speak with her?” Corbin asked.
Malcolm
gave him a hard shove. “Not now. We will come back for her later.”
Corbin
took one last glance at her and continued towards the front of the crowd. It
wouldn’t do any good to speak to her now. Not like this.
About the Author:
Tammy Farrell grew up in
Orangeville, Ontario Canada where she discovered her love of writing, and all
things related to Edgar Allan Poe. She now lives with her husband and four fur
babies in Greenville, South Carolina, where she teaches pre-GED English and
attempts to learn French when she isn’t busy writing.
@Tamzwrite
Tour wide giveaway
5 paperback copies
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