- What is your “day” job if you are not a full-time author?
I’m a full-time writer but most of the money I earn comes from ghostwriting. I’ve ghostwritten written a business book, a memoir, and a fiction novella for clients. I also write a lot of blog posts and do developmental editing. When I’m not working on one of those jobs I work on my own books.
- If you wrote a book about your life what would the title be?
Silver Girl from the line in the Simon and Garfunkel song, Bridge Over Troubled Water —that tells Silver Girl to sail on by, that it’s her time to shine. I began life as a survivor of childhood physical and sexual abuse, so no matter what hardships I faced, and there’s been a lot, it was still uphill compared to my childhood. Most stories that deal with this issue don’t seem to be written from a survivor's point of view. Survivors of childhood abuse look at the matter differently, focus on different aspects than outsiders. So wrote of this issue from an actual survivors' view, in a young adult fantasy, Moonless Night, which concentrates on the healing process, is uplifting, and entertaining, plus the hero is like a merman, the Welsh Sea God Dylan.
- What is the hardest thing about being an author?
The perseverance and focus needed to work on a book until its right is intense and there isn’t any short cut. And as soon as you publish one you begin it all over again. Only other authors will ever recognize the time and effort involved. But it’s worth it.
- What is the best thing about being an author?
I can connect with other people, many that I’ll never even meet and can share my thoughts, fantasies, and stories with them. I get to give my readers a laugh, a moment to ponder, the thrill of adventure, a brief relief from reality. and maybe even inspiration for them to write their own stories
- Have you ever been starstruck by meeting one of your favorite authors? If so who was it?
I went to an Anne rice book signing when The Wolf Gift came out. I just smiled sheepishly and told her my name for one book and my son’s name for the other to have them signed. I wanted to say more to her but I was speechless.
- What book changed your life?
Morgan Llewellyn’s books. The first ones I read were Druids, Horse Goddess, and Wind From Hastings, they were on the shelf of my local library. Those novels ignited a hunger in me for researching and writing about the ancient Celts that will never be sated.
- What were your some of your favorite books growing up?
Charlotte’s Web, The Little House on the Prairie Books, the Nancy Drew books, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, and Little Women.
- What books are currently in your to be read pile?
The Vine Witch by Luanne G. Smith, Mari’s Mistake by Ruby Dixon, The First Girl Child by Amy Harmon, and Made of Steel by Ivy Smoak.
- Which do you prefer ebooks, print, or audio books?
- Ebooks for most of my reading but I do love to soak in a warm bath while reading a good paperback.
- If you could live inside the world of a book or series which world would it be and why?
The hobbit series. I want to live in the shire and, like the other hobbit girls, have a flower or gemstone name.
The
Lynx and the Druidess
The
Druidry and the Beast Series
Book
Five
Cornelia
Amiri
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Date of Publication: July 1, 2020
ASIN: B08BNNFWBF
Number of pages: 94
Word Count: 22,600
Cover Artist: Kyra Starr
Tagline: Loving a god has its advantages
Book Description:
Lleu, the radiant sun god,
crosses between worlds to the Silures village for the fierce and stunning
druidess, Wendolyn —a woman worth battling for. He longs to celebrate Lughnasa,
the festival that honors him, with her.
Wendolyn is captivated by the
striking stranger the moment he wanders into her village. Furthermore, she
wants him with a fervor, burning her from within. However, he’s hiding his true
identity. When he vows to save her tribe from the Romans marching toward them,
everyone, including her dead father in a dream, says he is a coward who has run
off.
Lleu is determined to win the
love of druidess Wendolyn even if it means fighting the Roman army singled
handed—by shapeshifting into in his lynx body.
Will her tribe survive the
Romans? And, can Wendolyn and Lleu’s relationship survive her tribe’s mistrust
of him?
Excerpt:
With her heart hammering,
Wyndolen stared with wonder at Lleu’s luscious nude body. She only glanced away
long enough to pull a white robe, speckled with gold, out of the chest in the
corner. She tugged it on, then fastened a plaid cloak over it with a round
silver broach and latched her gaze onto Lleu again while he slipped his clothes
back on.
They left the
roundhouse and walked hand in hand to Cynfor’s home.
She called out
to the woodmaker, “It is time.”
Cynfor stepped out, clutching an iron rod and
the wheel of the year coated with gooey tar.
As the three walked together to the center of the village, men, women,
and children gathered around the druidess, muttering, “Lleu,” and “coward.”
Scanning the
angry faces in the crowd, Wyndolen sighed. If only they knew the truth about
him. But she couldn’t blame them, she was as guilty as they were. She hadn’t
recognized he was a god, even after he’d told her. No, he had to show her his
magic spear and reveal his dazzling aura. Now the others needed to learn the
truth. Tonight, at his festival, she
would announce who he really was. But first she had to prepare her tribesmen
for the news, to lessen their shock.
She held her
palm upward toward the crowd and cleared her throat. “Hear me, I have a
surprise for all of you. The presence of the god Lleu is here. You do not see
him as he is in the guise of one of us. So, take care of how you treat each
other, lest you offend the deity.”
Their
expressions shifted from anger to shame as they were now all on their best
behavior.
Taking graceful
steps, she led all her tribesmen, chief, and Lleu to a cliff. Their chief
proudly carried a blazing firebrand, and Cynfor held the sacred wheel with
reverent hands. Everyone grew quiet and gazed down the mountain slope.
Wyndolen
announced, “We have gathered this Lughnasa to observe the Wheel of the Year as
it turns.” She raised her arms to the sky and smiled at Lleu as she chanted,
“The sun burns, yet winter nears. The season turns. Summer comes to an end. Sun
and earth, life to death the wheel turns, Lughnasa, Lughnasa.”
She took the
torqueh from Corio, handed it to Lleu, and he lit the wheel of year aflame.
Cynfor handed Wyndolen the iron rod. Then, the sun god, Lleu, ran beside her,
on the other side of the flaming wheel, as she used the rod to roll it down
that part of the mountain slope.
She chanted,
“God of the sun, the wheel has turned, the yearly end of your reign has come.”
Smoke rose, as
flames ate the wood. The wheel reached its end at the foot of the slope and
crumbled into ash and burning fragments. The crowd stopped in their tracks and
circled the symbol of the dying Lleu.
About
the Author:
The Celtic Warrior Queen
influenced Cornelia Amiri to write professionally. Cornelia loves history and
in reading a book about the dark ages, she came across the rebel queen, who
inspired her so much, she started jotting down notes. But they were fiction,
visions of her involved in the Boudica revolt. Before she knew it, Cornelia had
accidentally written a rough draft for a novel. And she’s been writing books on
purpose ever since. Drawing on her love of a happy ending she’s currently
penned 39 published romance books.
Now, for the more mundane stuff.
She and her muse, Severus the Cat, live amid the hustle and bustle of humid
Houston, Texas, as does her wonderful son and granddaughter. Cornelia’s
currently working on a sci-fi comedy romance series with a Celtic goddess as
the heroine.
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