Friday 22 June 2012

SFR Brigade Midsummer Blog Hop - Circle Power


I LOVE stone circles. Probably the most famous one in the UK is Stonehenge, but I prefer Avebury. Here, an entire stone circle surrounds the village. There's something so silently powerful about them. The massive  effort that must have gone into creating them at a time when 'man-power' was the only way to get anything done is impressive in itself. How driven the creators must have been. No one can say for sure exactly what these places were used for, but the sheer scale and the placing of them means they clearly had great significance to the people of the time. And with many of them, certain stones mark special astronomical events - like the summer and winters solstices - which were probably seen as important mystical happenings in the Neolithic calendar.

I've always been fascinated by the myths that surround them, but particularly the one that suggests they are magical gateways to another dimension. Even fairy rings - a natural circle of toadstools - are believed to have the same power. So perhaps it isn't surprising that I used this as the seed to grow my stories from. The book that gave birth to Keir was originally a Doctor Who story I wrote two decades ago, where my main female character Quin encounters an alien in a stone circle that has travelled to her world via a temporal gateway. Quin herself is thrown back through the gateway, to wake on another world, in another time, with most of her memory missing. Bewildered by the strange people who look human but speak telepathically - and are red haired and green eyed, traits associated with the fae. She wonders if she's entered the fairy realm...only to learn that these are a far future society of humans who owe their origins to her.


By the time she meets Keir, travelling through temporal portals to other times and places has become a stroll in the park...albiet not always a reliable one. But she still uses a circle. On her hidden base on Lyagnius, she has a gateway room - a circular room with a powerful psi energy source beneath it that she uses to twist time and space for her pathways. Without these, she has no ability to travel - a weakness that leaves them both stranded on another world further into the story. But to find out how they get back, you'll have to read the book. :-P



Blurb:
Outcast. Cursed. Dying. Is Keir beyond redemption?

For Keirlan de Corizi--the legendary 'Blue Demon' of Adalucien--death seems the only escape from a world where his discolored skin marks him as an oddity and condemns him to life as a pariah. But salvation comes in an unexpected guise: Tarquin Secker, a young woman who can travel the stars with a wave of her hand.

But Quin has secrets of her own. She's spent eternity searching through space and time with a strange band of companions at her back. Defying her friends' counsel, Quin risks her apparent immortality to save Keir. She offers him sanctuary and a new life on her home world, Lyagnius.

When Keir mistakenly unleashes his dormant alien powers and earns instant exile from Quin's home world, will she risk everything to stand by him again?






I have a $15 Amazon Gift Card to give away to one lucky person who leaves their contact details in the comments below, and tells me their favourite magical place. And don't forget, there's TWO grand prizes!

1st Prize – a Kindle Touch or Nook Touch
2nd Prize - a library of science fiction romance titles from over 20 authors (these will be mostly ebooks with one print anthology), and an Anabanana Gift Card.


All you need to do to enter is pop along to the blogs listed below and comment on as many as you want (only ONE comment per site will count as an entry). Each time you comment at a stop, you’ll earn one entry into the grand prize – so the more sites you visit, the greater your chances of snagging the top prizes. The winners will be drawn at random on the 24th June and announced on the SFR Brigade site here. The list of participating authors can be found below this post. Spread the news and keep hopping!




60 comments:

  1. What a great post. This book is definitely on my TBR list.

    Happy Solstice!

    ReplyDelete
  2. So excited to read all the great posts this morning. Laid up with a bum knee, so at least I know the day won't be boring. I too have always been facinated with the stone circles. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hope your knee feels better soon! The circles are my favourite, but there are several neolithic tombs that fascinate me too. There's one called Wayland's Smithy near Avebury, set in a grove of trees. You get a feeling - not a bad one - but just a sense of something else.

      Delete
  3. I love stone circles and the story possibilities too. Thanks for hosting this blog hop.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I find it fascinating how so many different cultures had similar monuments. We don't have anything like that in Australia. Our native aborigines may have many legends, but I don't know of any pertaining to the seasons. Probably because we don;t have such marked differences between them.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Stonehenge fascinates me. The history behind it is amazing. Perhaps one day I'll get over there to visit. And Pippa I love your excerpt.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Stones, rocks, geology is definitely fascinating. Great post, and that trailer would sell me if I didnt already have Keir on my kindle. Pippa, thanks for sharing your worlds with us.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Fun post, Pippa! Portals make for fun stories, no question. :-) Thanks for all your hard work setting up the hop!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Fantastic post. I love the stones, they are so mysterious and intriguing. I've heard many legends behind them and how great would it be if even half of them were true! Thanks for hosting the blog hop and letting me join.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Amazing post and very beautiful trailer. My favorite magical place. I would love to visit Alice's world (Alice in Wonderland).
    Thank you for the giveaways!
    Artemis

    artgiote at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  10. Love your book cover. Your book sounds really good. My favorite magical place is in my own head where I can go to my own special place. LOL. Thanks for the giveaway.
    Sue B
    katsrus(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  11. I think the most magical place I've ever been was SCUBA diving of St. Catalina Island. There was 100% visibility and these huge purple sea stars with white knobs that looked like pearls. It was beautiful beyond description, and virtually untouched. A pristine landscape like nothing you find on the land.

    Liana Brooks
    liana (dot) brooks1 (at) gmail (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'd love to give scuba diving a go. Considering I had my characters fishing underwater on a tropical island, I've never had the chance to try it for real.

      Delete
  12. There are so many magical places out there, i want to visit them all! But if i have to choose, id want to visit Atlantis. The mystery, the intrigue. Im so curious and the stories are very... fascinating. Thank you for the awesome hop and the great giveaway! Ya all rock!
    shadowluvs2read(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love the sound of your book, Pippa and the twist of the aliens having fae traits but their origins coming from your heroine. This is definitely one I'm adding to my TBR list as well. :-)

    If you like stonehedge, I think you will find the Georgia Guidestones fascinating. Some call it America's Stonehenge.

    Thanks so much for hosting the hop! :-D

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wonderful post - I love the stone circles too.
    I downloaded a sample of Keir, devoured it then hit the buy button! I've been sidetracked from reading for a few weeks, but find myself thinking about the opening scenes of Keir. It is haunting. Can't wait to get back to it and find out what happens.

    ReplyDelete
  15. As much as I love England, and I've had the opportunity to see Stonehenge once, I think that Prince Edward Island is a magical place. I've unfortunately never had the chance to visit there though.

    Great post and blurb! The book sounds fantastic.

    Thanks for this opportunity!

    Pam
    vanillaorchids69(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  16. The book sounds fabulous Pippa! I'm a stone ring addict as well...even have one half built in the back yard.
    I'll be putting this on the TBR stat list. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, I always wanted to do that but hubs wouldn't let me! And thanks. :)

      Delete
  17. Well my favorite magical place would have to be Disney World ;) But I am definitely fascinated by Stonehenge.

    ReplyDelete
  18. My favorite magical place would be at a waterfall. I love the sound and the power of the water falling over the rocks.

    All the best!
    Jess
    jessicasubject.writer at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  19. My favorite magical places are the ancient ruins around the world - the Parthenon, the Acropolis, the Pyramids, Stonehenge and the like. Amazing to think of the peoples that built and used them so long ago. Maybe some of them weren't magical then, but they are to me now.

    Loved Keir! Greatly enjoyed reading it and would love to know more of their story. :)

    Cheryl
    cheryl (at) cherylcorbin (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Cheryl. Working on the sequel is next on my list. :)

      Delete
  20. Henges are always good for firing up the imagination! Looking forward to the rest of the story...
    tesskanthony (at) gmail (com)

    ReplyDelete
  21. Jarn's using sticks instead of stones, but that's exactly what his calendar was all about.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I felt weird, good weird, at Stonehenge. Matter of fact, my 3rd book in the Witches of Galdorheim series (ahem, pardon the spammy) has the MC heading for Stonehenge when she gets detoured into the Otherworld in Scotland.

    As for most magical spot, I'll choose Crater Lake in Oregon. There's not a single picture of the caldera that comes close to its awesomeness in real life on a clear day with no wind. A perfect mirrored reflection of the caldera walls in the 2000' deep lake, with Wizard Island and the Phantom Ship riding the surface. Magical, indeed. And all courtesy of Mom Nature. Pretty sure you can get hold of me if I luck into the prize.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They certainly great inspirations for writing, whether Mother Nature or humans create them.

      Delete
  23. Great post. Stonehenge is a good choice for magical place! I think I would have to pick Uluru in Australia, very special.

    viklitblog@gmail.com

    are my contact details. Going to hop around the blogs now - also, new to blogging and seeking connections so I am going to follow you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Uluru is amazing, and somewhere I'd love to go one day. Enjoy blogging! It's a great way to meet new people. :)

      Delete
  24. Fascinating post, and I loved the trailer, got 'Keir' on my wishlist now!

    My favourite place in the world has to be my native Wales, especially the parkland of an old mansion, called Nanteos, where I used to board my horses. There's a little pets graveyard there, with memorials to horses, cats and even rabbits. It's very pretty and tranquil. Wales has stone circles too, as well as landscapes to die for (including magical waterfalls with myths and legends about their origins.)

    Thanks for the chance to be part of this great blog hop!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Hywela.
      My parents used to take us camping in Wales every year to a basic site in Dolgellau. Nothing I loved more than wandering along the river by myself and making up place names and stories as I went.

      Delete
  25. I'm definitely interested in reading this book. Dr. Who has been one of my favorite TV shows since back in the early 1980's. Thanks for the giveaway!

    suz2(at)cox(dot)net

    ReplyDelete
  26. Fascinating story idea. I like stone circles and have been drawn to Stonehenge since I was a little girl. Some of my favorite stories are about neolithic circles. Good article, Pippa!

    ReplyDelete
  27. I do love stonehenge - but I also visited a stonehenge-esque place in Georgia one time - long story. But the feeling was very mystical and incredible. Thanks for the giveaway!
    morticiaknight (at) gmail (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
  28. My "most magical place" is a field on a privately owned mountain in the Catskills (Hunter, New York). A few of us used to go outpost camping up there -- and the night skies up there were phenomenal!

    I'd love to be able to visit Stonehenge some day!

    Thanks for the amazing post and giveaway!
    elizabeth @ bookattict . com

    ReplyDelete
  29. I wish I had a favorite magical place. I do have Stone Henge on my travel wish list though.

    I enjoyed the post thank you!!

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

    ReplyDelete
  30. Hi thanks for the giveaway and i really have never been anywhere, but i think Greece would be a great place to visit with all the mythological stuff. thanks joannie jscddmj[at]aol[dot]com

    ReplyDelete
  31. I love rings too. Never got to see any yet. Keir sounds excellent!

    AnnaM.
    doxisrcool at aol dot com

    ReplyDelete
  32. My favorite magical place - probably the Electric Brae in Scotland. A strange place where the water runs uphill.

    ReplyDelete
  33. The book sounds good. I like Stonehenge.

    bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  34. I found Monument Valley to have an awe-inspiring mystical quality. A must-see. Lisacordes (at) yah00 (d0t) c0m

    ReplyDelete
  35. The whole idea of stone circles are really interesting. We don't have them where I live but I think we do have them somewhere in the US.

    Good luck with your release.

    janbrowser(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Janice. I've never thought about the possibility of stone circles outside of the UK before - I'll have to look them up.

      Delete
  36. OMG I LOVE your cover Pippa! I'd have to say my most magical place is Ireland! I love that place and there is just something about it that feels magical.
    Thanks for the giveaway - Dawn
    drmgrl99atyahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Dawn. I've been to Ireland, and it's a beautiful place.

      Delete
  37. Yeah, a new to me author with a great book that I really want to read. My magical place? Blog hops....finding new books and authors to escape the real world for awhile.

    proudarmymom32(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Sue, and I LOVE your magical place. :)

      Delete
  38. Thanks to everyone for stopping by and for your comments. This contest is now closed. I will be chosing a winner using Random.org - if you didn't leave me an email address and I can't find one on your google profile, then I'm sorry but your name will be cut from the draw. :(

    ReplyDelete
  39. Hi Pippa! Visited yesterday but didn't leave a comment at the time. What an informative post! I think the most magical place I've been to is an old cliff dwelling Native American site in Colorado. Was a great experience!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Amber,
      Ancient sites have a magical feel to them, don't they? :)

      Delete
  40. Hey Pippa :-) I just wanted to leave a note and tell you that "Keir" looks fantastic. I've jotted it down on my "to buy"list. I get a new Amazon gift with my end of month paycheck. Then I go through my list. Can hardly wait :-) !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow, thank you Teresa - I'm honoured. With so many good books out there I'm always touched when someone considers buying Keir. :)

      Delete
  41. Avebury sounds like an amazing place. And I love the stone circles being used as gateways. I haven't read Keir yet, but I already love it!

    ReplyDelete

I always love to hear your thoughts.