Friday, August 16, 2013

A Visiting Friend - Author Cas Peace




Introduction by Michael L. Turner:

There are so many stories that need to be told, and every story must have its voice.  Today you will have the chance to meet one of those voices, and hopefully fall in love with her work.  So, let me not bore you any longer with my simple words, when hers are left waiting. 

Please give a warm welcome to the talented writer and author, Cas Peace!

Author Bio:
Cas Peace lives in the lovely county of Hampshire, UK, where she was born. On leaving school she trained for two years before qualifying as horse-riding instructor. During this time she also learned to carriage-drive. She then spent thirteen years in the British Civil Service before moving to Rome, Italy, where she and her husband, Dave, lived for three years. They enjoy returning whenever they can. As well as working on her writing, Cas loves walking, growing cacti, and playing the bodhran. She supports many animal charities and owns two rescue Lurchers, Milly and Milo. She also loves to sing, and is currently writing and recording nine folk-type songs to accompany each of her fantasy books.

See the video of her performing ‘The Wheel Will Turn,’ from King’s Envoy, live at the King’s Envoy book launch in 2011:
http://www.caspeace.com/cas-peace/the-wheel-will-turn

All her songs are available as free downloads from her website: www.caspeace.com


POST:
I first started out as a story-teller at school. English was my favorite subject, and my imagination had no trouble coming up with essays for assignments. I was always getting top marks for writing, which was just as well, because my marks for anything to do with Math were abysmal! I’ve never been able to understand how a brain that can cope easily with the vagaries of English spelling and punctuation can be so completely useless when asked to add two simple numbers. I’d love to excuse myself by claiming I suffer from dyscalculia (number blindness) but the truth is: I’m just plain rubbish at numbers!

Anyway, back to stories.

My first attempt at serious writing happened during the 80s. I decided to write a novel about unicorns. Not your twee ‘My Little Pony’ type of unicorns, but wild, fierce creatures that were noble and powerful. I got quite some way with this novel, tentatively titled ‘The Night of the Haloed Moon’, but work and personal stuff eventually got in the way, and the creative juices dried up. I still have it somewhere – maybe one day I will dig it out and have another go!

By this, you can gather that Fantasy is my ‘thing’. Early favorite authors were Anne McCaffrey, Elizabeth Goudge, C S Lewis, Joy Chant, and Peter S Beagle (yes, unicorns again!). Then I discovered Lord Dunsany (more unicorns!) and J R R Tolkien. These last two in particular influenced the kind of writer I wanted to be. But it wasn’t until my husband and I came back to the UK after living in Italy for three years that I found myself with enough free time to really write.

My triple-trilogy Artesans series came as a complete shock to me. I started by writing out a tiny scene one day when I was bored, a scene inspired by an old 70s children’s TV series. No one was more shocked than me when, suddenly, all this ‘stuff’ came flooding into my head, insisting I write it out! It was like one of those old-fashioned computer-dumps, when the machine would go crazy and spew out reams and reams of typed paper. Apart from the fact that I was (at that time) using a pen, the outcome was the same. Now, ten years on from that wonderful, frightening, intense, fantastic start, I now have a complete series of nine fantasy books, of which King’s Artesan is the third. Book One is titled King’s Envoy, and Book Two is King’s Champion, both published by Rhemalda Publishing. We are in talks concerning the second trilogy, Circle of Conspiracy, and the third, Master of Malice. I am hopeful that all will eventually be published by Rhemalda. As they say: Watch this space!

King’s Envoy:

Taran Elijah’s quest for knowledge uncovers a plot that threatens the world…

In Albia, the Fourth Realm, the precious Artesan gift is dying. Although born to the craft, Taran is struggling to achieve his potential. Against his friends’ advice, he embarks on a foolhardy plan to acquire the teaching he craves. Alone, he crosses into Andaryon, the Fifth Realm, but instead of finding a mentor, he stumbles upon a treacherous plot.

In the wake of Taran’s actions, Albia suffers a series of vicious raids. Major Sullyan of the High King’s forces is sent to oppose them. But a dark and treacherous force is moving through the realms and both Taran and Sullyan will feel its power.

Their craft, the lives of their friends, the very existence of their realm are under threat unless they expose and oppose the evil.

King’s Champion:

After surviving brutal torture and escaping from Lord Rykan’s dungeons, Major Sullyan is trapped in Andaryon, too injured to cross the Veils. Slowly dying and determined to find some purpose in the shattered remains of her life, she travels to the Andaryan capitol to offer the Hierarch her sword and Artesan gifts in the fight against Rykan and his vast army. Because women hold no power in Andaryon, Sullyan is met with prejudice, hostility, and suspicion.

Before she can seek vengeance on the field of battle, she must prove herself to the Hierarch’s generals. Finding support from the unlikeliest sources, Sullyan sets a plan in motion to defeat Lord Rykan and end his bid for the throne. The fate of two realms depends on her success, but her strength is fading fast, and time is running out.



King’s Artesan:

Unable to purge herself of the poison that is slowly killing her, Major Sullyan remains trapped in Andaryon. The only thing that can save her is the Staff, which still lies buried in Taran’s cellar.

Robin Tamsen sets out on a desperate quest to recover the artifact, but the enemy is two steps ahead of him. Sonten knows where the Staff is, and he will stop at nothing to get it back. If he does, Sullyan’s life will be forfeit and no Artesan will be safe.

The race for the Staff has begun.


 
 
 Now if you've come this far.  Don't forget your chance at a prize.

Also be sure to follow Cas on the rest of her tour.

Tour Dates

August 15- Marsha at
http://www.MarshaAMoore.blogspot.com

August 16- Mikey at writtenbymikey.blogspot.com

August 17- Michael at http://michaellturner.blogspot.com/

Fenny at http://evereadthings.blogspot.com

August 18- Andy at www.ebookwyrm.blogspot.com

August 19- Milady at http://Itz2mainstream.blogspot.com

Alice at BeesleyBuzz

August 20- Monique at
http://moniquebucheger.blogspot.com/

August 21- Mandi at http://bookinthebag.wordpress.com

Donna at http://donnakweaver.com

August 22-    Katy at http://katysozaeva.blogspot.com/




Thank you, Cas Peace, and everyone else for visiting this blog. 
Join and come back again and be sure to follow on Facebook.


 

3 comments:

  1. Michael, many grateful thanks for allowing me and my books to take over your blog!
    Cas.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Friends are welcome back anytime. Just let me know when you need the space again.

      Delete
  2. Wonderful interview. I love Cas's books and the world she's created here. And now I find our we're both fans of Anne McCaffrey. It just gets better and better. Congrats, Cas!

    ReplyDelete