{Author Fest 2013} Amber Argyle @amberargyle

Welcome to the first day of the November Author Fest!  Today we have non other than Amber Argyle author of both the Witch Song Series and the new Fairy Queen Series.  Today she is here to talk about book one in the Fairy Queen Series Winter Queen!  Make sure to come back tomorrow while we chat it up with Amy Freeman! And dont forget to enter the Giveaway! 

For the first twelve years of my life, I lived in a two bedroom ranch house at the base of a mountain. Besides my parents, my family consisted of three brothers--the oldest of which enjoyed beating me up. Ironically, the younger two were terrible wimps. I rode horses, moved sprinkler pipe, and mucked out barns (when they could catch me). We didn't have a lot of money, and the part of the ranch we lived on was eventually repossessed by the bank. Subsequently, we had to move to town (I know. I should have written Westerns).

I graduated from Utah State University with a bachelors degree (English and physical education), a husband, and a two-year old. I was a member of the collegiate honor society and graduated cum laude (which basically means I'm an overachiever).

My second son had severe colic, often crying for 16 hours a day. By the time he was four months old, I was in a very dark place. I discovered that I could prop him up between my arms and type for brief periods of time. Creating stories quickly became a cathartic addiction I couldn't function without.

It took seven manuscripts and five very long years before my debut novel, Witch Song, came out.

I currently live in Northern Utah with my husband and three children. I exercise because I like to eat chocolate and fit in my jeans (often rotating between Zumba, running, and basketball). I have a thing for vintage inspired clothes and firmly believe that one can never have enough shoes or jewelry. Also, I can't fathom why people eat tootsie rolls.

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~Becoming a winter queen will make Ilyenna as cold and cruel and deadly as winter itself, but it might be the only way to save her people from a war they have no hope of winning.~

Mortally wounded during a raid, seventeen-year-old Ilyenna is healed by winter fairies who present her with a seductive offer: become one of them and share their power over winter. But that power comes with a price. If she accepts, she will become a force of nature, lose her humanity, and abandon her family.

Unwilling to pay such a high price, Ilyenna is enslaved by one of the invaders, Darrien. While in captivity, she learns the attack wasn’t just a simple raid but part of a larger plot to overthrow her entire nation. 

With the enemy stealing over the mountains and Darrien coming to take her to his bed, Ilyenna must decide whether to resurrect the power the fairies left behind. Doing so will allow her to defeat Darrien and the other invaders, but if she embraces winter, she will lose herself to that destroying power—forever.

Interview with Amber Argyle

Tell me about your book. How did you come up with that (story, angle, idea)?

Winter Queen came to me with this powerful image of a girl lying in the snow, her body turning blue with cold, snow slowly covering her in a blanket of white, a bright stain of crimson in her middle. 

It was as beautiful as it was disturbing. I had to tell this girl's story. Tell the story of how she came to this place. And what happened after, because of course, there had to be an after. 

What kind of research did you do for this book?

My character, Ilyenna, is a healer, so I had a ton of research on herbs and wounds. The book is high fantasy, so a lot of research went into the place my book's landscape is based off (Triglav National Park, Slovenia). I also researched clothing (ie, the footware people in extremely cold climates wore), weapons and fighting, drowning, distances traveled per day on foot, wagon, and horseback, etc.

What is the hardest part of writing for you?

Finding enough quite time to write. I have three children and all the work that comes with them.

What are you working on now?

Witch Fall, the final book in my Witch Song Trilogy.

 

GIVEAWAY
Now it is Giveaway time!  All you need to do is follow these instructions!

1. Enter the rafflecopter however you wish!  The more ways you enter the more entries you get.
2. Comment below with What q and a you cant wait for and dont forget to add the highlighted word!

Thats it!  Come back tomorrow for another entry and another secret word!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Witch Song, Witch Born, and Winter Queen are such great books!  We get to see two entirely new worlds where magic rules and singing is power!  (Witch Song Series)

In Winter Queen we get even more action that just doesnt let up as we follow Ilyenna!  With wonderful descriptions to a book that just doesnt hold anything back!  

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