I'm happy to be talking to author Lizzy Ford today about her newest release, Damian's Oracle.
Your book Damian’s Oracle is based upon Slavic mythology. Can you elaborate on some of the traditional folklore which inspired you?
I stumbled upon the Slavic mythology by accident. The White and Black Gods appear in old Slavic mythology as being the two gods who are constantly at war. It’s the good vs. evil scenario, told in a way I found fascinating, as two gods on earth physically at war with one another. I had quite a bit of trouble finding much more information on the mythology, so I used it as the basis and built up everything else around it.
For example, in the War of Gods series, the fight between the White (good) and Black (evil) gods on earth is mirrored by an ongoing fight in the immortal realm between two entities called the Watchers and the Others. The immortal war leaks out onto Earth, which will push Damian and the Black God into an uneasy truce, so they can deal with the immortals before continuing with their war. In the midst of this, Damian and his brothers find their mates, human females with otherworldly gifts, and each book in the series depicts Damian or one of his brothers meeting their partners.
For the immortal war, I pulled from Roman mythology to depict an immortal civilization in a constant stage of unrest, and Sumerian mythology to depict the Original Beings, those ancient beings who came from somewhere else to start the world as we know it.
What are some of the extraordinary paranormal gifts possessed by the Naturals, the term used in your book to label gifted humans?
In “Damian’s Oracle,” Sofia is a pseudo-Natural, an Oracle and a soul-reader, so she can see your future and your past. In “Damian’s Assassin,” Bianca is a Healer who can bring people back, even from the dead. In “Damian’s Immortal,” Yully can turn objects from one thing into another and is basically a sponge for magical energy.
Other Naturals have the ability to manipulate minds or teletransport or to hunt immortals that no one else can track. Basically, Naturals have one unique power each.
Your heroine, Sofia, is a Natural who transforms into an oracle. How do oracles differ from Naturals?
Oracles are basically kingmakers, because of their unique abilities to provide advice and insight. There aren’t many Oracles; they’re rare in the mortal world, and Sofia is the first Oracle found in the mortal realm since the Schism tore the immortal and mortal realms into two distinct worlds. The other Oracles all existed in the immortal realm.
Naturals are gifted humans with unique talents that aid the Guardians in fighting evil. There are many Naturals in the organization at any given time, and the Guardians and the Black God are constantly on the hunt for new ones with unique talents that’ll help them fight each other.
How does Sofia feel about that transformation? And her new role as the mate of the White God, Damian? What problems does Sofia face with these changes?
Sofia is terrified at first. She’s hunted down by both the White and Black Gods, and the Black God ends up killing her, so he can blood-bind her to him. Damian rescues her, but the blood-binding means she’s basically vampire: she can only live on Damian’s blood. She doesn’t want much to do with him, but she’s bound to him. Sofi struggles to understand her role in the organization, and how to deal with her magic powers. Her first visions as an Oracle are of the deaths of everyone around her. Death is the one common fate of everyone, so it’s the easiest for her to See.
All this mixes together to create an emotional mess for her. But, she’s a strong woman, and she eventually accepts her place in fighting the Black God for the sake of humanity, and she does it on her terms.
What problems does Damian encounter with her transformation?
Damian knows how things worked in the immortal realm, with Oracles who knew what their roles were and took their places beside the Gods. He’d never had to deal with a human-turned-Oracle, and he doesn’t normally deal with human females at all. He doesn’t ever know the right thing to say, and he doesn’t have any sort of Oracles for Idiots guide so he can help her.
For him, it’s the first time in his life where he’s actually pretty helpless, despite his powers!
Damian’s Oracle
By Lizzy Ford
Genre: sweet paranormal romance
Inspired by Slavic mythology, Damian’s Oracle is the entree into the ongoing battle between good and evil over the fate of humanity. The White God, Damian, and his Guardians protect the world from the Black God and his monsters while rescuing Naturals – humans with extraordinary paranormal gifts – from the Black God, who would kill or convert them.
Caught in the middle is cool-headed Sofia, a Natural whose gift will tip the scales in the war. Sofia begins her transformation from human into oracle, the first in thousands of years. Damian rescues her from the Black God in time to complete a ceremony that will bind her to him for eternity. Sofia struggles with her new world and her role as an oracle and Damian’s mate while haunted by a mysterious man from Damian’s past who’s supposed to be dead. Unbeknownst to her, her link to the dead man may be all that saves Damian, his Guardians, and the fate of humanity.
While he wants nothing more than for the petite beauty to take her place at his side like the oracles of legend did his White God forefathers, Damian can’t quite rationalize having to win her over instead of command her. Further complicating his life is the sobering realization that there are spies in his organization who are helping the Black God take out his Guardians. Damian must help Sofia reach her potential fast, especially when a threat from his past returns.
Damian’s Oracle links:
Excerpt:
Sofia froze as the scene straight out of her vision—the little boy, Cody, spread-eagled in the street near the storm drain—materialized before her. They boy’s mother was hysterical, screaming at once at the driver and her dead son. Coldness seeped through Sofia as she watched the familiar scene before her. In the distance, she heard her cell phone ring. It ceased and began to ring again. As if in a dream, she pulled it free and answered.
“Ms. Fast?” The deep baritone voice pierced her thoughts. “This is Damian Bylun. You left a message with my receptionist?”
Her world was beginning to spin as she realized her vision had come true. Her legs felt weak, and she sat heavily on the curb, struggling to control her breathing so she didn’t pass out.
God, what’s wrong with me? I saw him die …
“Pardon?”
Realizing she clenched the phone in her hand, she locked the screen and sat staring at the asphalt. Someone touched her, and visions flared across her mind. A pretty brunette, mugged in a back alley, raped and killed.
“Hey, are you all right?” someone else asked. As the man took her arm to help her stand, his haggard face appeared in yet another vision. An older man with dementia left to rot and finally die in an old folks’ home.
“Get away from me!” she cried, tearing her arm away. She fled, staggering as she bumped into more people and more visions flashed. She ran until the cold air burned her lungs and the people were far behind her. She retreated to her apartment, breathing raggedly, with cold tears stiffening her cheeks.
She closed and locked the door behind her. She froze when she saw the disaster that was her apartment. Everything was overturned or shredded, from the furniture to the bookshelves to the TV lying on its face. The windows were open and the apartment cold.
Her headache was now a migraine, and she shielded her eyes against the light from the street that filtered past her honeycomb blinds. She all but staggered into her bathroom. She wrenched open the medicine cabinet for the most powerful of the drugs Dr. Mallard prescribed for her and slammed the cabinet shut.
Her eyes were fully silver, swirling and glowing in the dark bathroom. Whatever she was, she wasn’t a normal human.
“What is wrong with me?” she screamed, slamming her fists against the mirror.
Her blood spattered on the wall, and buzzing filled her ears. She sank to the floor. Her phone began to ring again as she slid into a dead faint.
About the Author:
Lizzy Ford is the hyper-prolific author of the "Rhyn Trilogy" and "War of Gods" series, both launched in 2011, as well as multiple single title young adult fantasy and paranormal romances. Lizzy's books have reached into the bestseller lists on both Amazon US and Amazon UK in multiple categories. Through her unconventional online marketing strategies, Lizzy has gone from selling 20 books in January 2011 to around 5000 books in September 2011 and from over 7,000 free downloads of her work in January 2011 to over 40,000 downloads in September 2011.
The Lizzy Ford team consists of: Matt, IT and search engine optimization expert; Christine LePorte, freelance book editor; Dafeenah, graphics artist; and Toni, English-Spanish translator.
Lizzy is considered by most to be the ultimate writing freak of nature for her ability to write and epublish a new book every 30-45 days. She is also a regular contributor for the Curiosity Quills website and is an active member of a small guild of nine passionate, talented writers, the Indie Eclective. Lizzy's books are available from Amazon, BN, Smashwords, iBooks/iTunes, and all other eReader libraries.
Lizzy’s links:
· Website: http://www.guerrillawordfare.com/
· Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/LizzyFord2010
2 comments:
Thank you for featuring me, Marsha!
Lizzy :-)
Thanks for visiting, Lizzy!
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