Authorpreneur Dashboard – Tara Young
Gods' Masks
Science Fiction & Fantasy
The end of utopia made lead to the beginning of truth. When an ancient prophecy resurfaces, the daughter of the Cat royal family is ripped from her home by rival races, the Wolves and Dragons. Her attempts to regain her freedom lead her into political intrigues older than memory. With her twin brother, she discovers that the greatest threat existence has ever known is still alive and seeking vengeance.
Book Bubbles from Gods' Masks
Nile Site
This village was based on the very thick collection of published excavation reports for archaeological site known as Wadi Kubbaniya. Throughout Part II of the book, I have included plot points that were based upon finds at the site, including my own inventive explanation for the violent death uncovered near the site.
Brother and Sister as Lovers
I've often been asked why I made the main characters have an incestuous relationship (one that you cannot immediately get behind ridiculing like in Game of Thrones). As I wanted to tie the story into ancient Egypt later, I wanted to hint at the fact that the main characters were the inspiration for the Isis and Osiris myth. As that myth likely developed gradually over thousands of years, I felt no need to adhere to it strictly as cultures and stories can change drastically over time. I also did not want to demonize the relationship because Isis and Osiris were very much in love and for this culture, the relationship was expected. They would never have been raised to think there was anything wrong with it. I needed the readers to understand that for these characters, there was nothing creepy about loving each other. Of course, the deeper reason for their relationship is revealed in later books. ;)
The Monstrous Hunt
Science Fiction & Fantasy
When Oliver finds himself bored at a Renaissance fair, he sees the woman of his dreams. Refusing to let her slip away without a fight, he impulsively follows her to York. Unfortunately, he witnesses a series of strange murders and his simple efforts to meet a girl are turned into the worst of nightmares.
Book Bubbles from The Monstrous Hunt
Urban Monsters
The Myyga are actually modeled after mosquitoes, which is where I got the name. According to Google translate, "mosquito" in Norwegian is "Mygga". To obscure the direct translation, I doubled the y instead of the g. Hopefully that didn't turn it into an expletive any more than "mosquito" already is. :)
Memory-s Emissary Final-smshwrds
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Gryp has spent lifetimes looking for more Stones of Ezamal with no success. When Vanagandr orders him to climb through the ranks of the Wolves, he hopes they will finally be within reach. But when a strange woman appears on Dominans, everything he thinks he knows about angels, gods, and even Thinkers is turned upside down. As he is trying to make sense of these developments, Shinga returns, still determined to clear her name. Despite her intentions, her arrival divides the remaining races more significantly than ever before.
Book Bubbles from Memory-s Emissary Final-smshwrds
Names
In The Moirean Tapestry, many of the characters have more than one name due to the reincarnation plot point. Which name is used when can give deeper insights to the mindset of the character being followed. In this scene, you can pinpoint the moment that Minyera's trust breaks based on whether she thinks of Gryp as "Lapidus" or "Iogrevard."
Small details
One of my favourite things to do in my stories is add details that are seemingly small at first and easy to overlook but turn out to be quite important later. I do this for those who tend to be more attentive and for those who enjoy reading books over and over. I hope people will be able to find something new every time they read my work. That's what makes reading fun.
Courted Sanctuary
Literature & Fiction
Luitgard is a High Priestess of the Mintharchs, a people who have spent nearly half of the thirteenth century hiding from the Roman Catholic Church. Under the protection of an ancient goddess, their home has had no contact with the outside world in that time but when a Dominican friar named Justin appears at their gates, Luitgard cannot figure out how he found them. She soon realizes that Justin is just as confused and just as worried. They leave the village in search of answers while Luitgard's fellow High Priestess, Sieglinde, is left behind to take over the leadership she had never expected to hold. On their journey, Luitgard and Justin learn that they have much more in common than had been suspected and begin to rely upon each other in a way Luitgard has never before experienced. As Sieglinde tries to remain strong for her people she is left wishing for the quiet life she would have had with the warrior Humbert. As both Luitgard and Sieglinde learn their situations are much more dangerous than they had anticipated, they begin to question how real their divine protection ever was and learn that their best hope for survival is trusting not faceless gods but the mortals by their sides.
Book Bubbles from Courted Sanctuary
Goddess or Devil?
Justin's question is also a subtle question to the reader. The interpretation of the Goddess character was always meant to be fluid. How the reader sees the Goddess will likely say more about the reader's ideas about divinity than anything else. The characters have their own beliefs about the situation but the reader can just as easily come to different conclusions. None of my first readers interpreted this character or her motivations in the same way, which was exactly how I had intended it.
