Tags
Arthurian Legend, Camelot, epic fantasy, Guinevere, high fantasy, historical, King Arthur, Lancelot, legends, Merlin, Myths, romance, Scotland, Spiritual
BOOK INFORMATION
TITLE – Dawnflight, second edition
SERIES – The Dragon’s Dove Chronicles, book 1
AUTHOR – Kim Iverson Headlee
GENRES – Epic Fantasy, Myths, Legends, Historical, Spiritual, Romance
PUBLICATION DATE – 2013 (First edition was published by Sonnet Books, Simon & Schuster, 1999)
LENGTH (Pages/# Words) – 415 pages/130K words
PUBLISHER – Pendragon Cove Press
COVER ARTIST – Natasha Brown
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Today we have Gyan with us to answer some questions. Thanks for stopping by, and let’s begin!
What is the meaning of your name?
I am Gyanhumara nic Hymar, daughter of Hymar and her consort, Ogryvan. My mother, whose name means “song,” named me her “rarest song,” for I was fated before birth to be the only daughter she would ever bear. Those who do not ken the Caledonach tongue call me by many other names: Vennevria… Guanhumara… Ganora… Gwenhwyfar… Guenevara… Guinevere. I am none of those women.
I am Gyanhumara.
Your position to choose a consort placed a large responsibility on your shoulders. At any point did you wish it never fell to you?
I was born to be the Exalted Heir-Bearer of Clan Argyll. Thus I have been trained for this sacred duty my entire life. Does a lion wish it had never been born a lion? There may come a day when I might regret having to wear the mantle of this responsibility, but it is not this day.
What advice can you give future warriors faced with decisions torn between loyalty and love?
One is loyal because one loves deeply and without reservation. How can there be a sundering betwixt the two? And if a sundering of loyalty does occur, then perhaps the love was never present from the start.
There are future generations who may say you were only a myth. How would you respond to them?
Your word “myth” is unknown to me. The Caledonaich have stories, and we have tales. The latter—which the Ròmanaich call fables—are invented to convey lessons and concepts for the purpose of teaching our children while entertaining them too. In these lessons we include tales of the Old Ones, though by Caledonach law only priests are permitted to utter the sacred tales. Our storytellers, trained from birth to possess vast unerring memories, are charged with the duty of preserving the stories of clan lore: births and deaths, marriages and annulments, battles and alliances, times of poverty and times of prosperity. The stories are passed from one storyteller to the next, with no variant of even the smallest word, such that the deeds they describe ring just as true today as they did on the day they occurred, many generations before.
My deeds have begun to be added to Storyteller Reuel’s collection, as they will continue to do until the day my death-lament is sung. One day, Reuel will pass them to his successor, and so on. For as long as even one Caledonach storyteller lives, my true story will be spoken.
Among the misty lochs and glens of ancient Scotland, duty wages war against love on the battlefield of opposing cultures and agendas.
BLURB:
Gyan is a Caledonian chieftainess by birth, a warrior and leader of warriors by training, and she is betrothed to Urien, a son of her clan’s deadliest enemy, by right of Arthur the Pendragon’s conquest of her people. For the sake of peace, Gyan is willing to sacrifice everything…perhaps even her very life, if her foreboding about Urien proves true.
Roman by his father, Brytoni by his mother, and denied hereditary rulership of his mother’s clan because of his mixed blood, Arthur has followed his father’s path to become Dux Britanniarum, the Pendragon: supreme commander of the northern Brytoni army. The Caledonians, Scots, Saxons, and Angles keep him too busy to dwell upon his loneliness…most of the time.
When Gyan and Arthur meet, each recognize within the other their soul’s mate. The treaty has preserved Gyan’s ancient right to marry any man, providing he is a Brytoni nobleman—but Arthur does not qualify. And the ambitious Urien, Arthur’s greatest political rival, shall not be so easily denied. If Gyan and Arthur cannot prevent Urien from plunging the Caledonians and Brytons back into war, their love will be doomed to remain unfulfilled forever.
Book Video: Audio Book Teaser:
LET’S MEET THE HEROINE!
Excerpt from Chapter 11: Merlin counsels Arthur about Gyan
Arthur strode to the wall of shelves. Amid the stacked scrolls stood Uther’s games helm. Arthur lifted it down to trace the intricate gold embossing. “His lust cost me the chieftainship of my clan.” He returned the helm to its shelf.
“If it hadn’t been for his lust, you wouldn’t be here now. And Britannia would be torn apart by her enemies like a doe in a pack of winter-starved wolves.” Not for the first time, Merlin was amazed at how God could bring forth good from an evil event. Arthur made no reply but continued to stare at his father’s helm. “Listen to me!” Arthur whirled. In that instant, Merlin knew no words would sway the son of Uther. So he surrendered. “At least, let her come to you of her own accord.”
“She won’t. Not if she honors the treaty.” Poignant disappointment paraded across his handsome face. “I do not qualify under the terms.” A harsh laugh escaped. “My terms.”
Cup in one hand, Merlin stood and laid the other on Arthur’s shoulder. “Take heart, lad.” The war might be lost, but this battle was his. And he wanted to celebrate. “If it is God’s will, it will happen eventually.”
Arthur shrugged the hand away. “I want it to happen now!”
Of all the foolish, mule-headed… how very like Uther, Merlin realized. But he reminded himself that Arthur had made the initial effort to seek advice, something his father had not done until it had been far too late.
Purchase links:
AMAZON KINDLE (this is a worldwide link that opens to the Amazon product page in or nearest to the visitor’s country): http://getBook.at/Dawnflight_2ed_by_KIH_Kindle
AMAZON PAPERBACK – http://myBook.to/Dawnflight_2ed_by_KIH_paperback_2ndptg
AMAZON AUDIOBOOK – http://myBook.to/Dawnflight_2ed_by_KIH_Audiobook
BARNES & NOBLES NOOK – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dawnflight-kim-d-headlee/1003548584?ean=2940016289618
BARNES & NOBLES PAPERBACK – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dawnflight-kim-d-headlee/1003548584?ean=9781939051134
ITUNES E-BOOK – https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id660038137
ITUNES AUDIOBOOK – https://itunes.apple.com/us/audiobook/dawnflight-dragons-dove-chronicles/id681882480
KOBO E-BOOK – http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/dawnflight
SMASHWORDS – https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/289281
About the Author
Kim Headlee lives on a farm in southwestern Virginia with her family, cats, goats, Great Pyrenees goat guards, and assorted wildlife. People and creatures come and go, but the cave and the 250-year-old house ruins—the latter having been occupied as recently as the mid-twentieth century—seem to be sticking around for a while yet. She has been an award-winning novelist since 1999 (Dawnflight 1st edition, Sonnet Books, Simon & Schuster) and has been studying the Arthurian Legends for nigh on half a century.
Follow Kim via:
AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE (Worldwide link) – http://Author.to/Kim_Headlee_Amazon_page
BLOG – http://kimiversonheadlee.blogspot.com
FACEBOOK – https://www.facebook.com/KimIversonHeadlee
TWITTER – https://twitter.com/KimHeadlee
NEWSLETTER – http://eepurl.com/boiQ0z
Climbing off the bed, I inched towards the large vessel sitting on the floor, my curiosity getting the better of me. A silver liquid swirled inside—a beautiful metallic silver that reminded me of the strangers eyes.
The author will be awarding a full paperback set (4 books) of the King series to two randomly drawn winners, and one Mack paperback to one randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. (U.S. ONLY), so stay tuned!
ouch!—was inefficient, useless. It was why nightlights were invented.
GENRE: Contemporary Romance – Colleen will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Stay tuned for how to enter
Blackness and strange noises rang through the gloom. What was this? I floated through it, as though I didn’t have a body, couldn’t feel any sensations. I was pretty sure I’d died, but heaven was black and smoky. Or had I gone to hell?
GENRE: Romance, Contemporary, New Adult
Problem #1: The record label wants her to dump her band and move to L.A. Problem #2: She hadn’t counted on Chance Walker and the scorching heat of that first kiss. And last but not least is Problem #3: Is Chance really falling in love with the dull guitar teacher, or is he really just lusting after the sexy Eva James?
Isn’t this just the coolest? My friend and fellow author Toni V. Sweeney created this graphic for the book’s 2 wins: Preditors & Editors Top 10 and Paranormal Romance Guild’s 1st in Sci-fi/Fantasy!
About the Author: Ilona Fridl was born in sunny California where she spent the first twenty years of her life. Dreaming up stories took up a lot of her time. She then followed her parents to Wisconsin where she met her husband, Mark. They started a locksmithing business, but there were still stories in her head. Finally, she started putting them on paper―actually, a computer. The rest is history. She has an adult daughter and a granddaughter.
