To Dance in Liradon

Hello, and welcome to Adrienne Clarke's blog tour.  Adrienne is the author of To Dance In Liradon.  She's here today to tell us a little bit a little about her writing journey and to share an excerpt with us.  Adrienne will be awarding winner's choice of a Kindle touch, Nook Simple Touch, or a $100 Apple gift card, and one crystal Faerie necklace similar to what Brigid wore to the Faerie ball to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.  Do follow the tour and comment often.  You can find her schedule at http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2012/11/virtual-book-tour-to-dance-in-liradon.html

My Writing Journey

Where am I going? Where have I been? Thought provoking questions to be sure. My journey as a writer has had plenty of ups and downs, but the one constant is that I’ve never stopped writing, not even when giving up seemed like the path of least resistance. The simple truth that outweighs any disappointment or setback is that I love writing. The thrill of disappearing into that imaginary world where all things are possible has never lessened, not even for a moment.  That’s how I know I’m a writer. Not because of sales figures, or reviews, or how often I see my name in print, but because of the joy that comes from the act of creation.

In describing my journey as a writer it’s easier to talk about the writing because it’s the one certainty of the writing life. The road to traditional publication and connecting with a wider readership for my work is more difficult to control. Since the release of my debut novel To Dance in Liradon, I’ve done my best to learn about book marketing and promotion, but it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information. Like many writers, I suspect, I’m more comfortable with the actual writing than with marketing and promotion.

I hope that my continuing efforts to navigate the ever changing world of publishing will improve my marketing savvy, and I’ll find new ways to connect with the many wonderful readers out there, but the one thing I do have control of is my ability to put my but in a chair every day and write. No matter what twists and turns the next stage of my writing journey brings, I know I’ll still be writing stories, and  my greatest wish for the future is that I’ll continue to find readers who want to read them.

 

Blurb:

Seventeen-year-old Brigid O'Flynn is an outcast. A chance encounter with the Faerie Queen left her tainted in the eyes of the villagers, who blame the Faerie for the village’s missing women and children. Desperate to win the village’s acceptance, Brigid agrees to marry her childhood friend: Serious, hardworking, Connell Mackenna. But when Connell disappears before their wedding, Brigid's hopes are shattered. Blamed for her fiancé’s death, Brigid fears she will suffer the same fate as the other village outcasts, the mysterious Willow Women. Lured into Faerie by their inhuman lovers, and cast out weak and broken, the Willow Women spend their lives searching for the way back into Faerie. When Connell suddenly reappears, Brigid is overjoyed, but everything is not as it seems. Consumed by his desire for beauty and celebration, Connell abandons his responsibilities, and Brigid soon finds herself drawn into a passionate, dangerous world of two.

When Brigid discovers the truth behind Connell's transformation she’s forced to choose between two men and two worlds. Brigid’s struggle leads her into glittering, ruthless Faerie, where she must rescue her true love from a terrible sacrifice or lose him forever.

 

 

Excerpt:

 

Connell was waiting for her when she arrived. He took her hand without speaking and led her into the forest. Once they were safely inside the trees’ protection, Connell removed something from the heavy cloth sack he wore around his waist tied with a silken cord. It was a harp, the most beautiful instrument Brigid had ever seen. The tuning pegs looked to be made of gold and the strings of pure silver. When Connell touched them with his fingers, the music made her want to weep and sleep and laugh, all at the same time. She reached out to touch it, but Connell snatched her hand away.

 

“Forgive me, my love, but I cannot let you have it. As pretty as it is, it would burn your delicate fingers.”

 

“Why should it burn me and not you?” She thought it would be worth the risk to run her hands along the deep U of the harp’s neck.

 

“‘Tis no ordinary harp. It will only endure the touch of its owner.”

 

“How did you come to have it?” 

Connell brushed his fingers gently across the strings. “It was given to me as a gift.”

 

“By whom?” Brigid asked, bewildered. There was no one in the village save for the lord himself who could afford such an instrument.

 

Connell leaned towards her. “‘Tis a secret.”

 

“If I am to be your wife, there must be no secrets between us.”

 

Connell seized Brigid’s hands and pulled her towards him. “I am not myself,” he whispered in her ear.

 

 

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

I think I became a writer because the world inside my head was so real and vivid, sometimes more so than the outside world. In some sense I have lived parallel lives, present in my real and imaginary lives in different ways. Because much of my childhood was spent searching for faeries or reading about them, it is natural that my work encompasses fairy tale themes and other magical elements. In the words of Tennessee Williams, forget reality, give me magic!

 

Adrienne has previously published short stories in The Storyteller, Beginnings Magazine, New Plains Review, and in the e-zines A Fly in Amber, Grim Graffiti, Les Bonnes Fees, The Altruist, The Devilfish Review, and Rose Red Review. Her short story, Falling was awarded second place in the 2008 Alice Munro short fiction contest. To Dance in Liradon is her first published novel.

 

An avid reader of fairy tales and other magical stories, a thread of the mysterious or unexpected runs through all of her work. When she’s not writing Adrienne can be found searching for faeries along with her daughters Callista and Juliet.

 

Author Links:

 

Website: http://www.adrienneclarkewriter.com/

 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/ToDanceInLiradon

 

Goodreads:http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6436251.Adrienne_Clarke

 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/clarkeadrienne

 

Buy Links:

 

Amazon: US: http://www.amazon.com/To-Dance-in-Liradon-ebook/dp/B009F94I3W/ref=la_B009HWWMT4_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1349915685&sr=1-1

 

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/To-Dance-in-Liradon-ebook/dp/B009F94I3W/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1349972228&sr=1-1

 

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/to-dance-in-liradon-adrienne-clarke/1112975145?ean=2940015710045

 

Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/To-Dance-in-Liradon/book-J5YVsQBAyU26uuplRq4VrQ/page1.html?s=KS-iLsIhp0GoqVUvE-QpvA&r=1"