Guest Author: Kathryne Kennedy

Today, Literary Escapism is excited to welcome Kathryne Kennedy, author of The Fire Lord’s Lover, to the floor.

Fighting for control of a kingdom that is split into seven domains, Elven warlords use their human slaves to breed an endless supply of soldiers for their armies. Dominic Raikes, the half-blood son of the Elven Lord himself is one such warrior. Betrothed to Lady Cassandra, who has been raised in a convent to keep her pure, he little suspects that she’s been secretly trained as an assassin to murder his father – and him. Dominic and Cassandra soon discover that each one is not what they seem, but the price of trust may be their very lives.

Make sure you stick around to the end. We’ll be giving away two copies of The Fire Lord’s Lover to two lucky individuals.
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Thank you so much for having me as a guest here today, Jackie. I look forward to learning more about you and your readers. (I see we have some favorite authors in common.)

I was asked to introduce the seven magical realms in my upcoming release, The Fire Lord’s Lover, and I thought it might give some insight into the creation of my world if I shared my private notes for The Elven Lords series. It’s a combination of some of the historical research, the original creation of the fantasy element, and a peek into parts of the world that haven’t been revealed yet. Again, these are some of my private notes, so please forgive any inconsistencies in grammar, etc.

The Elven Lords series

In 1066, William the Conqueror invaded England and divided the land into great baronies, dotting the countryside with castles to control the still rebellious Saxon population. Had England not been invaded by another force, William might have brought England under a unified rule.

The link between the world of man and Elfhame had sundered long ago, the elven people and their magic fading to legend. Tall beings of extraordinary beauty, the fae preferred a world of peace. But seven elves–considered mad by their own people–longed for power and war. They stole the powerful scepters of Elfhame, created their dragon-steeds, and opened the gate to the realm of man again and flew through.

Each elf carved a sovereign land within England, replacing the baronies that had so recently been formed. The five elven men and two women acquired willing and unwilling slaves to serve in their castles and till their lands. And fight their wars. Like mythical gods they set armies of humans against each other, battling for the right to win the king, who’d become nothing more than a trophy. They bred with their human slaves, producing beautiful children with magical abilities of their own, careful to destroy those who might prove to be too powerful. From those that survived the culling, they chose favorites to become champions of their war games.

The seven elven lords maintained a unified pact, using the scepters in a united will to place a magical barrier around England, with only a few guarded borders open to commerce with the rest of the world. Elven magic provided unique goods and the world turned a blind eye to the plight of the people, persuaded by greed to leave England to its own, as long as the elvenkind did not seek to expand their rule into neighboring lands.

But many of the English people formed a secret rebellion to fight their oppressors. Some of the elven’s children considered themselves human despite their foreign blood and joined the cause. And over the centuries these half-breeds became their only hope.

This is the full history; I cut it for the prologue.

The Seven:

Similar in beauty, except their eye color matches their talisman. Each of the seven has stronger magic related to their scepter. The elven have divided England into seven sovereignties and have altered the land according to their primary magical power. They all appear to be about 35 years old.

Mor’ded: Black scepter-fire./fire lord/Black dragon-steed: Ador red eyes spouts fire
Sovereignty of Firehame: S Central England (including London)/Red Uniforms/blue-robed healers
Firehame palace, next to Thames, replaces Houses of Parliament Bldg.
See map for other tweaks of place-names.
White fire, cold, harmless, for light.
Blue fire, heals
Black fire, burns in the mind, most powerful
Gray fire, neither hot or cold, an impenetrable wall of flame
Red fire, burns powerfully, can be used to spy
Yellow flame is gently warm.
Orange much hotter.
Green fire, a link to the undead realm.
Fire creatures, little intelligence.
Flame trees.

Breden: Blue scepter-excels in magic of sky and water./storm lord/Blue dragon-steed: Kalah blue eyes breathes lightning
Sovereignty of Dewhame: SW England
Dewhame palace, Bath in Somerset.
Water sprites.
Only Breden can call a storm, his offspring can alter water in small ways, exception is Cecily.

Mi’cal: Green scepter-plant and tree-responsible for changing the English countryside./the verdant lord/
Green dragon-steed green eyes breathes a mist that sprouts vines with thorns, trees, etc.:
Sovereignty of Verdanthame: E England
Verdanthame palace, Norwich in Forfolk
Skilled weavers of cloth.

Roden: Gold scepter-air-excels in glamour, illusion & invisibility./lord of illusion/All elven lords can see through illusion (except as noted above) but not humans unless half-breed.
Gold dragon-steed gold eyes breathes misty smoke of illusion :
Sovereignty of Dreamhame: W England
Dreamhame palace, Shrewsbury in Shropshire
Glamourist, Illusionist

Lan’dor: Silver scepter-metal-creates magical blades and weapons./warrior lord/
Silver dragon-steed silver eyes touched with red, breathes molten metal:
Sovereignty of Bladehame: N Central England
Bladehame palace, Darlington, Darlington (city & borough)
Skilled makers of gold, silver jewelry settings, get their gems from Stonehame.

Annanor: Brown scepter (female)-earth-excels in quakes and chasms./earth lady/
Brown dragon-steed brown eyes, roar that shakes the ground:
Sovereignty of Terrahame: NE England
Terrahame palace, Oakham, the county town of Rutland

La’laylia: Violet scepter (female)-gems-she made the crystal stone that uses the scepter that allows the elven to communicate with one another. The scepter fuels the crystal, it slides into a hole on top of it. Use quartz, common everywhere./lady of stone/
Violet dragon-steed lavender eyes breathes smoke that turns things to stone: Midaz
Sovereignty of Stonehame: NW England
Stonehame palace, Appleby, Westmorland—made entirely from amethyst.
Skilled gem cutters, close trade with Bladehame for the making of jewelry.

Time period books take place in:

Eighteenth century, from the Georgian to the Regency eras.

My hero/heroines will primarily be half-elven, which means they will have some magical powers and extraordinary beauty and grace.

The first book will center on the child of Mor’ded, and his struggle to contain his growing magical strength, his involvement with the secret rebellion, and his love for the assassin trained to kill his father.

Notes:

Elven do not reproduce as easily as humans.

The only way to combine powers is with the scepters. Elven do not often work together, except to keep barrier around England (and first time, when they entered our world).

Scepters have a degree of awareness, they are linked to the dragon-steeds, and they want to go back to Elfhame. If you don’t have the power required to wield a scepter, it will destroy you.

The elven don’t marry, but their female children have married into titles, and their male children married titled women, which gave their male children titles. So, there are titled and non-titled people who have elven blood, and a bit of magic. The aristocracy clamor to make matches with elven bastards, hoping to gain influence with the Imperial Lords.

A champion is rare; most children are born with either too much power and a threat to the elven lord, or too little, like most of the nobles at court.

An elven’s innate magical abilities. Some of these are passed on to their children (children receiving these traits are not sent to Elfhame):

  1. Extraordinary beauty, strength, grace and speed of movement.
  2. A small power of magic from each scepter’s powers; so, a child could light a candle, or perform a small illusion, but not do anything on a grand scale.

Suggested: REVEALED IN BOOK 2: Where the magical power comes from.
Suggested: REVEALED IN BOOK 3: The key to opening the door to Elfhame.

Titles & Precedence:

(My own addition) Imperial Lord/Lady: “Your Most High” or “Elven lord”
Children have no title unless they marry into one.
The elven created this new title for themselves which precedes even the king.

Library research books:
Costume in Context/The Eighteenth Century by Jennifer Ruby
Private Places/Life in the Great London Houses by Christopher Simon Sykes
A History of Fashion in Costume/The Eighteenth Century by Anne Rooney

Books I own:
Daily Life in Eighteenth Century England by Kirstin Olsen
The Hanoverians by Jeremy Black
The Story of Britain by Rebecca Fraser

I hope you and your readers enjoyed a look into the creation of THE ELVEN LORDS series, and if you should have any questions or comments, I would love to talk with you all today.

My Magical Best,
Kathryne

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kathryne Kennedy is a multipublished, award-winning author of magical romances. She’s lived in Guam, Okinawa, and several states in the U.S., and currently lives in Arizona with her wonderful family—which includes two very tiny Chihuahuas. She welcomes readers to visit her website where she has ongoing contests at: www.KathryneKennedy.com.

To Purchase The Fire Lord’s Lover at Book Depository / Amazon
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Thank you Kathryne for taking the time to visit Literary Escapism!

Contest Time! Kathryne has graciously offered to give away two copies of The Fire Lord’s Lover to two lucky winners. All you have to do is answer this question: Do you like seeing what kind of research authors do for their novels?  Or simply ask Kathryne a question.

As always, there’s more ways of getting your name in the hat (remember, these aren’t mandatory to enter, just extra entries):

  • +1 for each place you post about today’s contest on your blog, social network, or anywhere you can. Digg it, stumble it, twit it, share it with the world. Wherever you share it, make sure you add a link to it along with your answer.
  • +1 to any review you comment on, however, comments must be meaningful. Just give me the title of the review and I’ll be able to figure it out from there.
  • +1 If you are a follower of Literary Escapism on Facebook and/or Twitter
  • +10 Purchase any of novel through LE’s Amazon store or through the Book Depository sometime during this contest and send a copy of the receipt VIA email for your purchase to: jackie AT literaryescapism DOT com. Each purchase is worth ten entries.

There is one thing I am adding to my contests now…the winner must post a review of the novel someplace. Whether it is on their own blog, Amazon, GoodReads, LibraryThing or wherever, it doesn’t matter. Just help get the word out.

The contest will stay open until July 20th, at which time I’ll determine the winner with help from the Research Randomizer and the List Randomizer.

I have not been contacting winners, so you will need to check back to see if you’ve won.

About Jackie 3282 Articles
I am a 30-something SAHM with two adorable boys and a supportive husband who is very tolerant of my reading addiction. I love to read and easily go through about a dozen books a month – well I did before I had kids. Now, not so much. After my first son was born, I began to take my hobby of reviewing a little more serious and started Literary Escapism to help with my sanity. I love to discuss the fabulous novels I’ve read and meeting all the wonderful people in the book blogging community has been amazing.

24 Comments

  1. How long did you spend on research for this premise? What led you to these books for research in particular? Do you keep extensive notes on each series to keep things straight or are you able to remember it all?

  2. Hi Jackie! It’s so great to be here today! Thanks so much for all the ways you are offering entries which promote TFLL. Very much appreciated!

    Hi SandyG! I’m not sure of the question, but I believe your comment qualifies as a valid entry. :}

    Hi Amber Scott! Great questions! I researched the eighteenth century for about a month to capture the feel of the era. I try to find books that will provide the most facts about every day life in the time period, and a comprehensive look at clothing, which is what led me to these particular books. Finding the right research books is essential. I do keep notes on each series, as well as each particular book, so I can keep it all straight. A lot of it is in my head as well, as I do have a tendency to immerse myself in my book. Hopefully any mistakes I may make will not interfere with the reader’s enjoyment. So great to hear from you!

  3. Definitely Sandy, you’re all good since I was the idiot *again*. Man….I’m getting bad about forgetting or changing up the question. Anyway,there’s one up now.

  4. I enjoy reading about the research authors do because it gives insight on all the work and origins put into the story.

    My question is, what was the first thing you did after completing the book?

    +1 Facebook follower/Jeanette Juan

  5. Yes, it’s always interesting to hear where authors get their ideas, and what kind of research they’ve done for their books. I really enjoyed the post and learning more about Kathryne’s writing process and research.

  6. Hi Kathryne,

    Sometimes, we as readers forget all the in-depth research that writers have to do to make their stories come to life. I personally believe that fiction is the most difficult form of writing. The amalgamation of imagination, creativity & homework. AND it must entertain! I definitely did enjoy and thank you for the access into your writing world. I am half-way in love with your hero already! :-)

    +1 Twitter follower (@scorpio1m)

    +1 Tweeted:
    http://twitter.com/scorpio1m/status/18465269343

  7. I love to see what kind of research authors do for their books. For example, I love looking at The Outlandish Companion while I read the Outlander books! She put a lot of her research in the Companion to share with her readers.

    I like this blog on FB!

  8. Hi Jeanette8042! Great question! I usually do a ‘whoo hoo’, then do a final read-thru, then send it off to my critiquers for feedback. They are the first ones to read it so it’s always a scary/exciting moment. :}

    Hi Barbara Elness! So glad you enjoyed the post and a peek into my writing process. Great to meet you!

    Hi Scorpio M! I was hoping readers would fall in love with Dominic as much as I did, so great to hear your half-way there! ;}

  9. I love learning about what authors do to research their books. My favorite is when it’s included as an extra at the end of the book.

  10. I’m fascinated with how authors do their research. Sometimes it spurs me to learn about something new myself.

    Kathryne – I was wondering why you picked the time period that you did? Did you consider setting it earlier or later? (I love the Georgian and Regency periods myself so I’m very happy that you chose that time period – especially Georgian – the clothes were just so fantastic).

    +1 commented on Twice Dead

  11. Hi Meredith Miller! It’s wonderful to hear that readers enjoy a companion book! Thanks so much for sharing!

    Hi Carrie E.! That’s good to know. I will have all of the info on my world that I shared on my blog tour up on my website at the end of it, including a map of the Elven lands. I’m glad to know that readers may enjoy it. :)

    Hi JenM! I love the clothes too. :) I also love the pageantry of the Georgian era, and wanted to explore it further, so what better way than to set my books in that time period? Thanks so much for such a great question!

    I’m signing off for now…my heartfelt thanks to all of you for the fantastic comments! And Jackie, it was a pleasure to be here!

  12. I absolutely love learning what type of research authors do for their novel, it’s very interesting.

    +1 FB follower & twitter follower @vanpham88
    +1 commented on your review of Blood Cross

  13. this sounds like a great story. Please enter me in this contest.
    I follow you on twitter and facebook. pamk258 Not sure if is this +1 or +2

    I love to read about how an author researches her books. Who are some of your favorite reads? And how do you come up with the names you use.

  14. Yes! I am always fascinated by the amount of research authors put into their books. It is amazing how much knowledge is poored through. I often find myself browsing thru the info and getting into my own little learning binge.

    Really enjoy your books Kathryne!

    tweeted:
    http://twitter.com/pams00/status/18735317523

    facebook post:
    http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1329505888&v=wall&story_fbid=132752310093362

    stumbled:
    http://www.stumbleupon.com/url/www.literaryescapism.com/10265/guest-author-kathryne-kennedy

    twitter follower (pams00)

    follow on Facebook (Pamela Sinclair/ http://facebook.com/pams00)

    Pam S
    pams00@aol.com

  15. I always enjoy seeing the research that author’s put into their novels. That way I can see how much is based on experience/knowledge and how much is just plain old fiction xD

    +1 for following LE on facebook.

  16. I always LOVE to read more about the behind the scenes of a book, I love to know how it came to be as the fianl product and what steps did the author take to make it the way it is.

    +1 follow LE on Twitter (@Stella_ExLibris)
    +1 follow LE on FAcebook
    +1 tweeted:http://twitter.com/Stella_ExLibris/status/19011819741
    +1 posted on Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000899165880&v=wall&story_fbid=145643225449029&ref=mf

    Thank you :-)

    stella.exlibris (at) gmail (dot) com

  17. Yes, it’s always interesting to see what research goes into author’s novels and what they just pull from their own minds.

    The book sounds great. :)

    +1 now following you on Twitter.

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