Book blurb:
Title: Reflection of the Gods
Author: Lisa Llamrei
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Newly
divorced Das MacDermott longs for a fresh start. As he packs up and prepares to
move out of the city, he spots a young woman being held at gunpoint by three
men. Despite being outnumbered and unarmed, Das does his best to intervene.
Once liberated, the victim seems oddly ungrateful, but on an apparent whim
decides to join Das in his new life in rural Ontario. Aislinn, as she is
called, returns the favour; with her encouragement and support, his start-up
photography business takes off, and more importantly, Das is saved from
loneliness and self-doubt.
Das,
however, is never quite able to fully dismiss the contrary aspects of Aislinn’s
nature, and is strictly forbidden from asking about Aislinn’s past. All seems
too good to be true, and indeed it is. Aislinn’s unusual talents and odd
behaviour, unbeknownst to Das, come from her demigod status. Aislinn is
half-Sidhe, daughter of Fionvarra, Ireland’s fairy king, and a human woman.
Sidhe wars have so disrupted the mortal world that Aislinn has joined with
other immortals in an effort to permanently separate it from Tir N’a Nog, the
fairy realm.
Born in ancient Ireland, Aislinn
spends millennia as the plaything of the cruel and narcissistic gods. The pain
of being neither human nor Sidhe is offset by her relationship to the Fir Bolg,
another race of fair folk who take pity on her lonely state; and the refuge she
takes in being Das’s lover and protector. As Das comes to accept the
possibility that Aislinn belongs to a supernatural world, he discovers that the
two worlds are set to collide in a way that may mean the destruction of all
humanity.
Book Excerpt:
After some time, I drifted off to sleep.
It felt like no more than a few moments. Maybe it was longer. I awoke to a
wailing screech. I sat up, wondering where I was. I clamped my hands over my
ears. The door opened and a triangle of light flooded in from the hallway.
Uncle Patrick charged in, pointing a
finger. “Stop that racket right now.”
Aunt Mary stood right behind him,
pulling on an arm. She wore an old robe and had curlers in her hair. “It’s not
the boy, Patrick.” She pushed her way past him and flicked on the light in my
room. She sat down beside me and eased my hands away from my ears. “That won’t
help, but this might.” She took the crucifix down from the wall above my bed
and thrust it into my hands. “Pray. Pray like you’ve never prayed before.”
I stared at the crucifix in my hands
and winced at the noise.
“Grania did teach you how to pray,
didn’t she?”
I shook my head.
“Pray with me then. Hail Mary, full
of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is
the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.”
I started mouthing the words. Again
and again the wailing rose in a crescendo and stopped, like waves crashing on a
rocky shore. As it rose, I covered my ears with my hands, but Aunt Mary
continued, raising her own voice, “—mother of God, pray for us sinners now and
at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace—”
Waves
of carrion smell wafted in time to the sound. My whole body shook, and I cried
some more. Aunt Mary put her arms around me and held me close while she
continued praying, “—and blessed be the fruit of thy womb—”
Uncle Patrick came into the room
wearing his coat over his robe. “I’m going outside to find out what’s making
that noise.” He left and came back, sniffing the air. “Must be a dead raccoon
out there.”
As soon as the front door opened,
wind rushed through the house, as if whatever it was had been waiting for its
chance to enter. The wailing was now ear-splitting and the smell of rotting
meat hung in droplets in the air. I could taste it on my tongue. Aunt Mary
stopped praying and we both covered our ears. All the lights in the house
buzzed and went out. Silence.
Aunt Mary’s breath was quick and
shallow; the air, empty. She reached out for me again and held me, stroking my
blond head.
Uncle Patrick returned. “I couldn’t
find anything outside, but at least it stopped. What happened to the lights?
The streetlights are still on outside.”
“If you don’t mind, I’ll stay in
here until Mohandas falls asleep again,” said Aunt Mary.
Uncle Patrick hesitated. “Well,
sure, the little lad’s had quite a fright. You stay with him. I’m going back to
bed. If the lights are still off in the morning, I’ll call the hydro.”
After Uncle Patrick left, Aunt Mary
lay me down and tucked me in. “Try to get some sleep, little Das. Everything
will work out in the end. You will be loved here.”
Interview with Lisa Llamrei
1)
Would
you tell the readers a little bit about yourself?
I was born and raised in and around
Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In my wild and crazy youth, I spent a few years as a
professional belly dancer, and was even offered an opportunity to tour Egypt
and the United Arab Emirates; unfortunately for so many reasons other than my
dance career, the first Gulf War broke out at that time. I also did a great
deal of acting and other stage work, but never achieved professional status. I
am now a single mom to four girls aged 2, 12, 14, and 16. We live north of
Toronto.
2)
Which
project are you currently promoting?
Reflection
of the Gods.
3)
Can
you tell us what the book is about?
Newly divorced Das
MacDermott longs for a fresh start. As he packs up and prepares to move out of
the city, he spots a young woman being held at gunpoint by three men. Despite
being outnumbered and unarmed, Das does his best to intervene. Once liberated,
the victim seems oddly ungrateful, but on an apparent whim decides to join Das
in his new life in rural Ontario. Aislinn, as she is called, returns the
favour; with her encouragement and support, his start-up photography business
takes off, and more importantly, Das is saved from loneliness and self-doubt.
Das, however, is never
quite able to fully dismiss the contrary aspects of Aislinn’s nature, and is
strictly forbidden from asking about Aislinn’s past. All seems too good to be
true, and indeed it is. Aislinn’s unusual talents and odd behaviour,
unbeknownst to Das, come from her demigod status. Aislinn is half-Sidhe,
daughter of Fionvarra, Ireland’s fairy king, and a human woman. Sidhe wars have
so disrupted the mortal world that Aislinn has joined with other immortals in
an effort to permanently separate it from Tir N’a Nog, the fairy realm.
Born in ancient
Ireland, Aislinn spends millennia as the plaything of the cruel and
narcissistic gods. The pain of being neither human nor Sidhe is offset by her
relationship to the Fir Bolg, another race of fair folk who take pity on her
lonely state; and the refuge she takes in being Das’s lover and protector. As
Das comes to accept the possibility that Aislinn belongs to a supernatural
world, he discovers that the two worlds are set to collide in a way that may
mean the destruction of all humanity.
4)
How
did you come up with the title for this book?
By polling several of
my writer friends. The original title was Lifetimes,
which was too bland. So, I turned to my supportive writing community and we tossed
around a few ideas.
5)
What
inspired you to write this book?
Fairy folklore, mostly Irish. I was
particularly taken with stories about immortal women marrying mortal men and
started to wonder how that would play out in the modern world.
6)
What
made you decide to become a writer?
I didn’t decide to be a
writer. I just couldn’t help it. Ever since I was young, I invented stories. As
a teenager, I started writing them down.
7)
What
genre do you generally write?
Urban Fantasy.
8)
What
character out of your most recent work do you admire the most and why?
Nora. She’s in my
current work-in-progress. I admire her because she’s smart, strong, and focuses
on her strengths instead of her weaknesses.
9)
What
other projects are you currently working on?
I have a near-complete
first draft of a second novel. It’s about a deaf woman who is drawn into the
crop circle phenomenon. I’ve also just started prep work for a third novel,
which will be partially set in ancient Egypt, and will likely have elements of
horror.
10) When you begin a new MS, does it
start with an idea, concept, or both?
It depends on what you
consider the starting point of a manuscript. By the time I write the first word,
I have a general idea of what story I want to tell. Prior to that, however, I
am inspired by a concept, and generally spend months, or years, researching the
concept before coming up with a story idea.
11) What is your least favorite part
about getting published?
Promotion. It requires
a completely different skill set than writing, and I’m still struggling with
figuring it all out.
12) Was the road to publication a long
one for you?
Much shorter than for
most. I spent a couple of years pitching Reflection of the Gods to agents.
After getting some interest, but no offers, and after learning some discouraging
facts about the current state of the publishing industry, I decided to go the
self-publishing route.
13) Do you use a pen name? If so, why?
I do. Lisa is my real
first name, but Llamrei is a nom-de-plume. I use it partly for privacy, and
partly because my actual surname is very common (as is my first name), and so I
cannot get the domain name. A pseudonym allows me a better web presence.
14) Where do you see yourself in five
years?
Hopefully as a
full-time writer, with a combination of novel-writing and freelancing.
15) What is the best advice you can
give to a new author?
Just write. 90% of
literary genius is simply getting your butt into the chair and doing it. Make
up a schedule that you can reasonably fit into your life. It doesn’t matter if
it’s three hours a week or thirty, as long as you are working consistently.
Stick to the schedule. Treat it like a job, and get your family on board so
they understand that your writing time is important.
16) Where can the readers find more
information about you?
Author Bio:
Lisa Llamrei was born and raised
in the Toronto area. She studied languages at York University. At various
times, she has been an actor, professional belly dancer, holistic nutritionist,
and entrepreneur. She currently lives north of Toronto with her family. Reflection of the Gods is her first
novel.
Links:
Book Trailer:
The print book can be purchased
here:
The e-book can be purchased for
Kindle here:
Or for Kobo here:
Book Description: 'Thou shalt not commit adultery' (Exodus 20:14).
