Thea Harrison and Vivian Arend have some fun and share information about their upcoming Samhian releases- Thea’s DEVILS GATE (4.6 novella in the Elder Races series) and WOLF LINE (#5 novella in the Granite Lake Wolves)
Welcome to the 3rd stop on our BIG ADVENTURE! It’s time to introduce you to the heroines of our books, and in a twist, we’re taking them to some ruins.
Viv: You know, when Thea mentioned ruins as a stop, I was happy to realize I know the perfect place my heroine would visit. Maybe not typical, but very appropriate. See, WOLF LINE is set in the Yukon/Alaska, and one of my favourite parts about this area of the world is the history of the Gold Rush. The Chilkoot Trail—one of the routes the Gold miners took into the north to get to Dawson City— has been mentioned in the Granite Lake series before. The starting point for many of the hopefuls was the port of Dyea—now the home of some lovely ruins/ghost town.
Keri is a lovely wolf shifter who’s agreed to help her BFF during said BFFs maiden voyage guiding the Arctic Wolf Cruise Lines. Which stops at historic Skagway/Dyea!
Keri headed down the hall to escape onto deck.
She took it all in—the beautiful blue sky, the undulating waves of the ocean. The scent of the sea and a faint hint of fried food from the restaurants of the town filled her nostrils. She leaned on the railing and smiled.
It was a holiday. Tessa might be in the middle of panic mode, but those were normal first-time-out nerves. The shifter-only cruises had operated without a hitch for years, and with Tessa at the helm, nothing would change except maybe to get better. Like the rest of her family—the clan that had provided Keri’s second home for the past ten years—the girl had a flair for making others happy.
Volunteering as a troubleshooter wasn’t going to be a huge task at all. It was more a favour to ease Tessa’s concerns.
No, Keri planned on using what should be ample spare time this trip to plan out her future. She had an art degree from the community college, ink permanently staining her fingers, and a backpack full of charcoal pencils and art pads. But drawing pictures in the farmer’s market wouldn’t pay the bills forever. She sent another set of good wishes her parents’ direction for being patient with a rebellious hothead and giving her a place to bloom.
Now if she could only figure out what she wanted to be when she grew up.
Just for fun? No laughing at me!: A watercolour painting I did from the Dyea flats- but I bet Keri could do better.
Thea: When Viv and I brainstormed about ideas for travel stops on our blog tour, one of the first images that popped into my mind were the classical ruins from ancient Greece. My heroine, Dr. Seremela Telemar, is a medusa, which is a creature taken from Greek mythology. In the Elder Races, medusae are Demonkind.
The Medusa from Greek mythology is a tragic and sinister figure whom Perceus beheads. That myth is retold in the movie Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, where unfortunately the same thing happens to that medusa as well. I loved that movie because Uma Thurman made a fabulous Medusa, and the strange, gorgeous image still stands out in my mind.
Unlike the story in Greek mythology, in the Elder Races universe my medusae are a gentle and intelligent people, and the medusa that Perseus beheaded was a victim of a famous hate crime.
When Seremela was younger, she paid homage to that long ago medusa that Perseus murdered by touring Greece. She shopped in the marketplace at Athens, and walked through the Acropolis and other temple ruins.
In the Elder Races, the medusae culture has its own beliefs and traditions, which includes the recognition of how poisonous self-doubt can be:
The medusae believed that each medusa was born with a drop of poison in their souls. The poison turned into the medusa’s Adversary, the dark voice that whispered doubts and fears in one’s own thoughts. The measure of one’s strength was determined by how well one withstood one’s internal Adversary. Seremela tried to overcome that negative voice, but her own Adversary had a lot of ammunition to use against her.
Seremela is a medical examiner and pathologist, and self-identified geek who is more comfortable lecturing over a body on an autopsy table. Her head snakes, however, are a different story:
Her snakes didn’t have the slightest problem with social situations—not that they ever behaved appropriately.
Once at a work party, she grew lightheaded and extremely giddy while she talked with her boss at that time. When she turned around, she caught several of her head snakes lapping at leftover alcohol in the bottom of several glasses on a table behind her. Thankfully her boss had been amused and helped to call her a cab ride home.
That scenario gives a whole new meaning to the term “party animal!”
~~><~~
Be sure to join us after the weekend on Monday, June 4, for some hot and sweaty adventures in the desert. We’ll be stopping by Delighted Reader.
Thea & Viv
~~><~~
THEA AND VIV’S BIG ADVENTURE is brought to you by Thea Harrison and Vivian Arend, New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors with a love for both travel and writing. They have joined together for the nefarious purpose of celebrating their next Samhain Publishing ebooks.
Thea’s DEVIL’S GATE releases June 5. The novella returns readers to the world of The Elder Races. Available at: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Samhain Publishing
WOLF LINE, #5 in Viv’s bestselling Granite Lake Wolves, is available June 12. Available at: Amazon | Barne’s & Noble | Samhain Publishing
~~><~~
Comment for your chance to win:
Information re: Grand Prize can be found at Thea or Viv’s
DAILY PRIZE: One commenter here at Smexy Books will win their choice of one of Thea or Viv’s backlist Samhain ebooks from either the Elder Races or Granite Lake Wolves series. If you’ve got them all, you can gift this to a friend!
Winners from comments at all the tour stops will be announced at
Viv’s and Thea’s blogs on JUNE 13.
Question for today: Are there ruins that you’d love to visit?
Contest open to all through June 3.
Looks like I’m #1 today. I want to go tour Scotland and wander around castle ruins! And castles that aren’t ruins too.
Z
Seawitch Reviews @ yahoo. com
When I went on my honeymoon, we wanted to see the Mayan ruins, but there wasn’t enough people for the tour. So, I’d like to visit there, but I think first and foremost would be the Parthenon. I spent 4 years studying Latin, so I have an affinity for Greek mythology and would love to see that and the Pompeii exhibits. But, not sure if Pompeii constitutes as a ruin…
I like to see castle ruins, in Ireland or Scotland. I love to read about those places, but wouldn’t want to actually live then and there. I really like my electricity and running water. :)
My parents are in Greece right now…I’m only slightly jealous that I’m sitting here on my computer looking out at the pouring rain. :(
My ideal place to go though, would be to tour England/Scotland for a few weeks. My family is originally from there but I have never been but it still holds a special place in my heart!
Oh, I would love to visit the Coliseum… Yes I’m an Spartacus fan =), I can only imagine the vibes I would get from a place with that kind of history.
Castles are up there on my list, but I’d also love to visit the ruins of China and Japan. So much history steeped in such places–you just have to stand and feel it.
I would love to visit the Colosseum in Rome.
I want to go to Scotland and ruin a Scotsman…wait. That’s not what you asked. I want to go to Scotland and visit old castles. I’ve been to England and visited castles, estates and of course Stonehenge. I think I’d also like to visit Wales.
I would love to return to Scotland, but for new place it would have to be somewhere in East Asia or Machu Pichu
I would love to visit Greece to see the Acropolis and all the ancient ruins there.
I’ve always wanted to see the Mayan ruins. My husband has a plant in Merida Mexico so I’ve wanted to tag along. He won’t bring me because he knows I wouldn’t be able to handle the heat and humidity in the jungle to get to the ruins. I guess it’s quite the trek.
Thank you.
vsloboda(at)gmail(dot)com
id say that id like to go back though my heretige and visit the ruins in greese ireland scottland and i would love to go vist the ruins of egypt just for the fun of it.
I would love to see ruins in Greece, Europe, or Egypt. It just amazes me how they built things so long ago.
So many places I want to visit, so little money… I’d love to see Mayan ruins as well (Machu Picchu!!!), London, Scotland, Paris, and more! Alas, a teacher’s salary is not enough to support my lifestyle dreams, lol!
I would love to visit the Pyramid ruins in Eygpt. If I got to ride a camel all the better.
usignolc(at)yahooDOTcom
I would love to go to Greece, Egypt and Europe to see the ruins and castles. History is fascinating, I hope to make it to one in my life.
I would love to tour Egypt or Machu Picchu——someday…
Does Stonehenge count as a ruin? I’d love to see it in person. And I’d love to tour castle ruins in Ireland. There is so much history I’d like to explore in person.
I am dying to get my hand on Thea’s and Viv’s latest titles. If I win, my dilemma will be which one to choose!
I would love to go to Ireland and explore all of it. I would especially love to see standing stones.
danni0113@gmail.com
I’d love to see the pyramids and the Valley of the Kings in Egypt
I went to the coliseum last year and it was so awesome! I loved it!
The only ruins that I’ve been to (in the sense of classic tourist/sightseeing ruins) would be some Mayan ruins on the coast of Mexico near Cozumel & thought they were fascinating (though happy I didn’t have to reside such austere conditions)
I want to see Petra and the Library at Ephesus.
Ruins I would love to visit? Yes, I’d love to see the sights in Pompeii, and visit the pyramids in Egypt, as well as Stonehenge. And the Mayan ruins too. Thanks for the fun, Viv and Thea!
Have visited Athens and Delphi and would love to go back. Want to go to Egypt and see the pyramids. That is a trip to plan for.
I started to say the ruins in Greece but have changed my mind to Scotland. The kilts and sexy accents would be such a bonus!
There are a whole lot of ruins I’d still love to visit–most of the major ones, actually–Stonehenge, all the ones in Greece and Italy and the Middle East… I’ve visited the Great Wall and the site and Xian, which were amazing. There’s a lot in the world left to see :)
f dot chen at comcast dot net
I’d love to be able to go to Greece and sight see there. I think that would be fantastic. There are so many places that I’d like to though, I’m waiting for that brinks truck to leave me a few bags of money.
I’d love to go to Greece and see the ruins there.
I’d like to visit the ruins in Greece.
I love history and archeology and I always visit historical sites whenever I can. Right now Petra is at the very top of my list, closely followed by the Pyramids. I also just saw an article on Ephesus in Turkey and now I’m dying to go there also.
I’d love to see castle ruins in Scotland or Ireland and the ruins in Greece or Rome.
mythic021@gmail.com
I’d like to go to Japan and explore the Haikyo ruins as well as trying to see some of the country.
I’d love to see the ruins in Scotland and Wales. Their beautiful countryside, the people, the food. I want to see where my ancestors are from.
e.balinski(at)att(dot)net
I’d love to visit Greece or Scotland and see the ruins there.
laceyblossom1@gmail.com
I would love to see the Anastazi ruins in Monument Valley, the pyramids in Egypt and the ruins in Greece.
caity_mack at yahoo dot com
I love to visit Petra or maybe Egypt. Aw heck you mention go and i’m ready. I love to win the lottery and spend the rest of my life traveling.
scrtsbpal atyahoo dot com
Like many other commentators, I would love to visit Athens and Greece in general. I’ve already been to Rome, even if I didn’t have the opportunity to visit the Coliseum. And I’ve already seen many ruins in Scotland, romantic castles and such but I would love to see more. Scotland is a wonderful place with all its history and legends (and ghosts!).
Vivian, I think your watercolour is great, it’s far better than some of the ones I’ve done!
Thea, I love your ideas about the medusae. It sounds intriguing!
I am not much of a history buff, so I am struggling to think of many ruins outside of the UK (I live in England so have already seen quite a lot of the ruins we have over here) I’d really like to go see the Egyptian periods, I really enjoyed learning about the ancient Egyptian culture and would love to see the monuments they left behind. I’ve also read some works of fiction set in Asia describing ruined palaces and temples and assuming they were based on fact I’d love to visit them, I’d love to visit Asia anyway, especially Thailand.
I’ve never been to South America so I would like to visit some of the ruins there.
Ruins I’d love to visit are ofcastles, especially in Scotland. I love to visit ruins, my imagination soars. My family visited Fort Stevens on the northern coast of Oregon and I found it fascinating envisioning what it was like there, the only place on the mainland west coast that was shelled by the Japanese in WWII. When were were in Puerto Rico we went through the fort there and again the history sang to my soul. I love walking through ruins, sigh.
Thanks for your awesome books Thea :-)
I would love to travel the world and see all of the different forms of pyramids. I want to see the similarities and differences. I get tingly just thinking about it.
Absolutely, I am from Greece and I see many ruins everyday. I would really love to see and other ruins all over the world, Egypt , China, Rome, Mexico.
I’d like to see the ruins in Greece.
Would love to go to Scotland and Ireland to see some of the castle ruins and stones formation there.
I saw an ancient greek theatre in Turkey. And castle ruins in Germany which were both on my top list. I got really lucky. But I would still love to see Stonehenge and castles and England and Scotland.
I would like to see the ruins in Egypt and Greece.
Thanks,
booklover0226 at gmail dot com
Thank you for some other wonderful article. Where else could anybody get that type of info in such a perfect approach of writing? I’ve a presentation next week, and I am at the search for such info.
Thanks for a marvelous posting! I truly enjoyed
reading it, you could be a great author.I will be sure to bookmark your blog and may come back later on. I
want to encourage yourself to continue your great writing, have
a nice evening!