BLOG TOUR - CHERIE REICH "REBORN"

Today, I have invited Cherie Reich to my site as part of the blog tour for her newly released novel, "Reborn".  I asked Cherie a few questions relative to her new release and she kindly answered them, allowing me to share her answers with you. 

Some of her answers allow us to understand a little of who Cherie Reich is....and how she developed some of the names and landmark titles in this story.

Please join me and together we may learn how the characters and settings of "Reborn" came to be.

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Carolyn

1.         From the blurbs of Reborn, which I have read, I can see that you have researched the book intensely. Would you mind sharing your starting point and where you found the most helpful information? I guess you could say my higher education was my research. I majored in Classics (Ancient Greeks and Romans) and minored in the Ancient Near East. My studies led me to various mythologies and ancient histories, which I pulled from when I wrote Reborn. Outside these studies, I researched mythological creatures (learned about karshiptas and woodwoses) and distances/travel (boat, horse, people, birds).

2.         Apenth, is a very unique name for the temple connected to your MC. Did you invent the name, or does it have a mythological tale attached to it? If so, would you like to share the story? Apenth’s name comes from three gods’ names squished together. “Ap” for Apollo (Greek/Roman mythology), “en” from Enki (Mesopotamian mythology), and “th” from Thoth (Egyptian mythology). I wanted a name to showcase who Apenth is, which is a joining of these three gods.

3.         Yssa, is also an unusual name, very fitting for a prophetess. Would you explain how you decided upon it? The idea behind Yssa’s story originated with a roleplaying character I had named Clarissa. I wanted to keep a part of the RPG character linked with Yssa, so I debated between Issa and Yssa. I ended up preferring the “Y” spelling, so Yssa’s name was created.

4.         I love the cover art! Laura Sava has done a wonderful job. Is this the first cover she has designed for you, or have you two worked together before? Did you find her easy to work with? Before Laura designed the cover art for Reborn, she designed the cover art for People of Foxwick and Their Neighbors (Forthcoming Fall 2014). I love working with Laura. I told her what I wanted. She did a few quick sketches to get a feel for what I wanted. I selected a sketch, and she took about a week to get me the cover art. She’s reasonably priced for original cover art and pretty fast. I feel very lucky to get a chance to work with her since she’s not taking on too many new clients, and I plan to use her expertise for Reforged (Book Two) and Redestined (Book Three)—and maybe Remarked (Book 1.5) if I can afford it.

5.         So Cherie, what is next for you? I’m working on Repledged, a prequel story taking place 800 years before Reborn. Repledged was originally titled Magna’s Plea and a short story I had published but decided needed to be longer. I’m enjoying spending time in Magna’s version of Amora, although I’m eager to get back to Yssa’s timeline too once I finish the first draft of Repledged. I am also in final edits for People of Foxwick and Their Neighbors, a collection of seventeen short stories.

To save a kingdom, a prophetess must challenge Fate.

On the day of Yssa’s death and rebirth, the god Apenth chose her as the Phoenix Prophetess.

Sea serpents and gods endanger the young prophetess’s journey and sour the omens. Yssa is cursed instead of blessed, and her duties at the Temple of Apenth prove it. She spends her days reading dusty scrolls, which does nothing to help her forget Tym, the boy back home. But the annoying yet gorgeous ferryman’s son Liam proves to be a distraction she can’t predict, even though he rarely leaves her alone for two sand grains.

Her boring temple life screeches to a halt when visions of her parents’ murders consume her. Yssa races across an ocean to stop the future. If she can’t change Fate, she’ll refuse to be the Phoenix Prophetess any longer. Fate, however, has other plans for her and the kingdom.

Yssa must either accept her destiny or fight to change Fate.

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Author Bio:

A self-proclaimed bookworm, Cherie Reich is a speculative fiction writer and library assistant living in Virginia. Her short stories have appeared in magazines and anthologies, and her books include the horror collection Nightmare, a space fantasy novella collection titled Gravity, and the fantasy series The Foxwick Chronicles and The Fate Challenges. Reborn is her debut novel. She is Vice President of Valley Writers and a member of the Virginia Writers Club and Untethered Realms. For more information, please visit her website.