Hunters of the Dream
by Ingrid
Koivukangas
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: YA Fantasy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
When the summer holidays begin, Aurora thinks she’s just a normal
teenager about to have another boring summer. Then, for her seventeenth
birthday, Nana Brin gives her a long-silent Oracle that has been passed down
through their family for generations. The mysterious Oracle soon awakens in
response to the creeping Darkness that is escaping and destroying all worlds.
Aurora must quickly find the courage to come to terms with her calling as the
Huntress of the Dream.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT:
The cards rustled, shifting in their dusty
threadbare bag. They had lain dormant, forgotten, for generations. The Oracle
woke slowly, like a hound sniffing the wind, trying to catch the scent of what
had disturbed it, before calling forth a warning. The Oracle bristled. Attuned
to the subtle vibrations of the Worlds it sensed a shifting in the balance of
energy. The Darkness was once again pulsing, sending out tendrils of elusive
gloom. It too had lain waiting, patiently. Over time it had slowly gained
power, recruiting those it could ensnare with its black promises. It could not
yet escape from the confines of the agreement reached during the Great
Darkness...but soon the winds would shift and change. Fully awake, the Oracle
began to cast out its own response, filaments of white light unfurling, in a
quest to find the Huntress before the Darkness did.
A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR:
2. Besides yourself, who is your favorite author in the genre that you write?
3. What are reading right now?
4. Which one of your characters is most like you?
5.Which of your books is your favorite? Why?
A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR:
1. When
did you first realize you wanted to become a writer?
It’s so strange
how some moments remain so clear in one’s memory. Knowing for certain, that I
wanted to be a writer is one of them. I remember being seven-years-old and
visiting friends of my parents. Their children were years older than us, and in
university. One of them had a portable orange typewriter in their bedroom.
Seeing it was a profound moment…kind of like in a Monty Python movie when the clouds
part upon a revelation! I knew in that moment that I would write, well, type
stories. I had just written and illustrated a story about a mouse and I thought
that a typewriter would help me make the story be more like the books I was
reading. More like a ‘real’ book instead of child-writing in crayon.
2. Besides yourself, who is your favorite author in the genre that you write?
I don’t have one
favorite author. I read books in many different genres, so I have many favorite
authors. As far as my favorite fantasy author, it’s definitely J.R.R Tolkien.
3. What are reading right now?
We recently
bought a ten-acre property, that we call Alchemy Farm. We are creating a small
working farm with a variety of crops, including flowers for market. So, I’m
reading a lot of gardening and small farm books, like: Crop Planning for
Organic Vegetable Growers, The Market Gardener, The Flower Farmer and The
Herbal Medicine Maker’s Handbook. I’m also taking a bee apprenticeship program
– we have two hives arriving this spring – which means I’m also reading books
on bees and beekeeping. My favorite bee book is Bee Time: Lessons from the Hive
by Mark L. Winston. I’m sure looking forward to having time to read some
fiction next winter!
4. Which one of your characters is most like you?
Perhaps every
character a writer brings into being has some element of the author in them?
When I think of my characters I can see this. With Beaumont Seabring, the time
traveler, I know that I share his sense of adventure. Aurora and I share a
sense of innocence about the world and outrage at injustices. Nana Brin, the
mysterious grandmother, and I share a love of teaching about the natural world
and magic. Vaadin, the Shaman who has been mysteriously transported thousands
of years into the future, and I share a similar genetic and ancestral bond.
5.Which of your books is your favorite? Why?
Hunters of the
Dream is my first book. Perhaps it will always remain my favorite book, because
of this.
Thank you for
hosting me!
It was a pleasure, Ingrid.
Ingrid
Koivukangas, BFA, MFA, is an award winning environmental artist, writer,
designer, Reiki Master and educator.
As
an artist Ingrid works intuitively at sites creating new works in response to
sites and their energies and histories both natural and human. Her work
encompasses many media including site specific ephemeral, large scale public
works, writing, video, photography, sound, web, sculpture, painting, drawing
and printmaking.
Ingrid's
artworks have been exhibited in Canada, the USA, Europe and Asia. She's been
featured as an artist in residence on CBC-TV; has had numerous gallery
exhibitions; has many site specific ephemeral works left in situ and large
scale permanent public art projects.
Ingrid's
artworks have been included in many publications and books including: Art in
Action: Nature, Creativity and Our Collective Future, published by the Natural
World Museum and the United Nations Environmental Programme and Art + Science
Now: How scientific research and technological innovation are becoming key to
21st-century aesthetics by Stephen Wilson, Professor of Conceptual and
Information Arts at San Francisco State University. One of her favourite
publications to be included in is Scholastic Book's Now See This! Art That
Influences.
Ingrid
has a Bachelor of Fine Arts, with Distinction, from the University of British
Columbia Okanagan and a Master of Fine Arts, Environmental Sculpture, from the
University of Calgary. You can view her work at: www.ingridkoivukangas.com
Ingrid
lives on Salt Spring Island with her husband Robin, two dogs, Lucy and Scout,
and a fierce cat named Hunter.
***
Links:
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/IKoivukangas
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/HuntersTheDream
Website:
www.IngridKoivukangas.com
Chapters
/ Indigo: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/hunters-of-the-dream-book/9780973632767-item.html
NOTE: Hunters of the Dream will be available at Amazon from
February 22 to March
20 for only $0.99
Get
a free online Eco Heart Oracle reading. http://bit.ly/FreeEcoHeartOracleReading
Visit the World of Wonder membership site. This
site is for Hunters of the Dream readers. Continue exploring the world of
Hunters of the Dream: http://bit.ly/EnterAWorldofWonder
Ingrid Koivukangas will be awarding an Eco Heart Oracle Deck
valued at $28 US, (the Eco Heart Oracle is an integral part of the Hunters of
the Dream trilogy) to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour
(International Giveaway). Use the link below to enter.
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteHow did you become involved with the subject or theme of your book?
ReplyDeleteHi Mai - Hunters of the Dream is related to my work as an environmental artist, where I work with Spirit and energies of the land.
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the words from the author and the excerpt, sounds like a great read, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete