Oracle's Mist by Aedan Byrnes: Interview & Giveaway

Through the Oracle’s Mist

Aedan Byrnes

BLURB:
In the blackest night, with the moon and stars to guide him, she would always be there waiting…
Cyrenna thought she died the day she watched Tynan and his brothers jump through the banishment portal in an act of solidarity with Rigor. Little did she know, it would be the first of many deaths she would experience in her quest to claim his heart. She would surrender not only her immortal soul, but a mortal one repeatedly. Through a deal with the great Oracle, she has multiple mortal lifetimes to change the direction of her future and have a chance with Tynan.
Her journey spans the ages from the GenPei War in Japan and the Silk Road west, to Cromwell, the Three Kingdoms and modern times, bringing her one step closer to forever until she makes a misstep. Then, the burden falls to Tynan. The only thing that is absolute is her fervent hope that he will come, but there’s one big problem.
Through it all, he doesn’t so much as know her name.

Excerpt:

How many times can a man be broken? How many times can a man die and never have it be final? How many lost loves or lost chances at love will it take to undo any chance of ever becoming whole? In the purest sense…only one. Nothing I could imagine or ever endure would compete for the absolute punishing agony of her folding me into her arms to comfort me and hearing her whisper…

“I know.”

Two words. Who knew that two words would be all that it would take to loose the storm? Hardly two words really, only five letters. Five little letters with extreme power. Five little letters to rob Zeus of his most lethal bolt, focus the strike, and rend me in pieces. The surge had pushed past my pride and leaves me sobbing for the loss I had yet to experience. A loss I knew would take my breath, but I cannot die. How cruelly ironic that death has become my sole wish now?

My internal emotional upheaval is a flash storm out of place beneath the cloudless sky. The cacophony of my noisy tears and transition scatter the small creatures for miles. I have no control and shift without grace. Rage and pain coalesce to an explosion, angst roaring as the internal battle is waged and the war lost before the call to arms is done sounding. My thunderous eruption screaming against the fading light, with a rising silvery moon and shimmering stars to bear witness to my destruction. The metamorphosis from man to beast is abrupt. I shift, not with the flexing of bone and the stretching of skin, but with the crack of a gun blast and a single pull to form. It is razor wire across my senses and I am bloodied raw without a trace to be found.

A testament to her, she stands still. Not frozen, but placated to let me render the fury that must come out as I cannot hold it in. The beast from within is enormous, but not big enough to hold so much. I warned her. I told her. I had made her aware almost cruelly that first time I let my inner wild out that this day might come…could come…would come and that it would be ushered in on an unseen tide that would sweep our perfect world away. I had wanted her to be afraid. She wasn’t. She had believed, but had also naively assured me that the day would be long into the future and we would enjoy the time until then.


She had been wrong. There was nothing to say now. ‘I’m sorry’ would be a hollow sentiment and ‘I was wrong’ would do nothing as the last thing I would want to hear and know about this was that I had been right.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

There is no simple description for Aedan Byrnes. Obsessive, dreamer, reclusive, compulsive, outdoorsman and wordsmith would be among the list if one were started. The displaced Gael lives in the upper Midwest with family between jaunts wherever the road takes him. A frequent traveler, he is as likely to be found rock climbing or spelunking as sitting fireside dreaming or aimlessly floating away.

A lifelong lover of words and writing, he claims a diverse reading appetite and his writing reflects the myriad influences. A self-proclaimed 'reader's writer', he looks for the emotional and the sensory in word combinations, not just the visceral comprehension of phrases in the stories he crafts and his love of all things literary shines through.

 

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fan made video trailer:http://youtu.be/wdW5BBP6wcs

http://www.cafepress.com/AuthorAedanByrnes

Link for book video: http://youtu.be/KLpBb5gnJbs

Interview:

Please welcome author Aedan Byrnes who has stopped by to answer some questions and share some details about his book Oracle's Mist.

What is your favorite part of the story, Through the Oracle's Mist? 

That’s a very difficult question. I knew the piece for the visit to Delphi before I knew the rest of the story, so perhaps that because it triggered much of the larger tale. I love history and the jumps were fun to write and viscerally visit. Each stop is a favorite in its own way. The Silk Road is particularly fascinating to me as are the Shoguns, so to choose a single part would be incredibly difficult.

How long did it take you to write Through the Oracle's Mist?

Through the Oracle’s Mist came about in pieces over a couple of years, mostly because I was working on other things, and in part because I had to focus the vision of the series to get the first story together. I know the larger tale, but the larger story would be convoluted and wandering to try to tell as I see it in my mind, so breaking it into digestible pieces for others to understand and follow was a long challenge. Even now, breaking Warrior’s Watchtower out from the rest to tell it is an ongoing struggle.

If you were stranded on a desert island which of your characters do you want by your side?

The one I would likely choose has, in fact, not been formally introduced to readers yet. Of the known characters, I would probably say Asmodai. He is relentless in his pursuit of what he wants, but also what he needs to survive. He is not popular with his brothers for this, but his understanding of self and necessity would make him a staunch ally in any quest for survival.

If you could be best friends with one of your characters, who would it be?

That too is a tough question.  Rigor would be a choice, but I wouldn’t want to be on his bad side for anything. High on the list also would be Amarine. She is so much more than the readers know yet.

How do you overcome writer’s block?

I really don’t think I have writer’s block. I am constantly refining the story in my mind before I write it out, so when I sit to write it is a regurgitation of details, not creation. I have more struggles with aligning the story to where the pieces fit than the actual creation of it.

Can you share a little of your current work with us?

“That single word coupled with the tangling and untangling fragrance of her, become a vortex in my mind. Rational thought collides with irrational thought, wants, and needs. All of them together, do battle with my better self. Standing up, my feet are unsteady; my head is a carnival ride of haphazard motion, and my inner wild is desperately cleaving for release. I can hear her heaving for breath as quietly as she is able and can smell the palatable desperation to remain in control and calm. I have to back away or it will be over before I can form a thought to stop it. I am too close to losing the battle with my other self and I have less ability to restrain him of late. I am not master of myself right now. I’m too close. Mistakes made years ago will not be repeated. It is a hard reminder in the back of my mind. I have to back away or risk destroying another who might finally, so many years after Ite, be worth the challenge to learn.

Backing up, I find myself stumbling backwards, the mad tumbling bramble in my mind cluttering all rational thoughts and abilities. Lights flash against darkness in my mind, leaving momentary blindness in their wake and confusion. Images slideshow with lightning quickness; her standing in the moonlight, then it isn’t her at all but another who looks at me with sorrow, courage and compassion. More images come of her shivering to maintain control as I stroked an ice cube down her cheek; back to the other her, shivering from a different kind of stroking. The back and forth are disorienting and I find myself ass-planted on the floor with a ‘whump’ grabbing for my temples to stop the onslaught of the ensuing madness. The back and forth comparisons will not be still.

Kneading my eyes with the heels of my hands I shake my head to clear the fog from my addled brain. I am aware that she is not able to see me and that is a small mercy, though as I settle I can smell the cloying damp earth smell of her sobbing in confusion. The smell of her tears is nearly my complete undoing as my other self surges forward to rage at memories. I clamp down hard on the past and the storming emotions to wait. I am rewarded with the low tone of her breath hitching across her vocal chords as she rights herself and regains her composure. Sadly, for both of us, it isn’t enough. I want more.” –Tynan, Through the Oracle’s Mist.

What do you prefer paperback, hardcover, or ebooks? 

Hardcover, I love the feel of them in my hands as I turn the pages. It is an autonomic action that carries me through to other places. Paperbacks have a similar but diluted sensation, and e-formats fall a little short for me.

Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

Firstly, thank you. I would always be a writer, but to share the journey with others who enjoy the adventure is a grand thing.

Secondly, please let me know what you think of the story. I love the feedback and endeavor to tell better tales.

Lastly, find me and say hello.

To connect with me you can find me at:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AedanByrnes

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/#!/aedan.byrnes.7?fref=ts

https://www.facebook.com/#!/AedanByrnes

You can purchase book I, Through the Oracle’s Mist through these sources:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Through-Oracles-Mist-Vengelys-Series/dp/1935970186/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/379575

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/through-the-oracles-mist-aedan-byrnes/1117497870?ean=2940045449298

Giveaway:

Aedan will be awarding to one randomly drawn commenter a journal from his CafePress storefront, a charm and leather bracelet made for the story and a custom cover shepherd hook style bookmark made by Stone Soup Designs for Through the Oracle's Mist. The bracelet leather colors and the journal cover may differ from the photo.

Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found HERE.