1. Rasel's Song is Book 2 in Akrad's Legacy series... How does it build on Book 1?
Book 1, Arad’s Children, revolves around the mystery of who
poisoned the Kapok (Ruler) of Tamrin, while introducing the setting, the royal
court of Tamra following a devastating civil war, and the main characters including Dinnis, Prince Mannok, Ista and (briefly) Rasel. This is Dinnis’ story as an
outsider to the court. While the immediate mystery is resolved by the end of
Akrad’s Children, the underlying threat to the royal family is not.
In Rasel's Song the murders and assassination attempts ramp up
the threat to the royal family and the intensify the need for Prince Mannok to
marry suitably, but that all goes astray when the prince encounters the
shapeshifter, Rasel. Meanwhile, the Kapok tasks Dinnis with uncovering the
identity of the assassin.
2. Do you have a continuing protagonist throughout the
series? If not, how are the protagonists related (or not related)?
The Akrad Legacy series focuses on four main characters, Dinnis,
his half-brother Prince Mannok, the shapeshifter, Rasel, and Lumi, the daughter
of the main antagonist. In Book 1,
Dinnis is at the heart of the story. The focus shifts more to Mannok and Rasel
in Book 2. In Book 3, Lumi’s Allegiance (aiming for 2026 publication date),
Lumi is the focus, and in Book 4, the focus swings back more to Mannok. Having
said that, Dinnis is a fan-favourite and he plays a pivotal role in all four
books.
3. How did you arrive at the premise of the Akrad's Legacy
series?
Initially, the series premise came through a lucid dream of
a young princess standing in a nighttime courtyard and calling something wild
to come, when a young man appears. This nighttime dream became my first
(unpublished) novel, Adelphi. I took a long break from writing, and when I
returned to it, I dusted off this first novel, and had ideas for sequels and
prequels. And in the end decided to write the prequels first – the story of the
young man’s parents. The premise of Akrad’s Legacy was birthed out of how they
met and why things turned out as the did in Adelphi.
4. How does this series sit with your other books? Does it
develop a favourite theme or is it new ground?
I started writing the Akrad’s Legacy before my other
published books, even though Heart of the Mountain (in the Under the Mountain
series) and Ruhanna’s Flight (a short story in Glimpses of Light) were
published first.
Almost all my stories are set in the world of Nardva, a world I discovered as
an eight-year-old and has continued to expand with each new story. The original
stories began in the northern hemisphere of Nardva following the adventures of
Awynallen. When I wrote Adelphi, I set that story in a new region - the
southern hemisphere of Nardva (so literally new ground). Ruhanna’s Flight, The
Under the Mountain series, the Akrad’s legacy series are all set in this southern
with a connected history, but in different eras, cultures and places.
The Akrad’s Legacy series is a kingdom fantasy with courtly intrigue while the
Under the Mountain series is epic fantasy adventure but with common themes of
hope, forgiveness and finding one value and purpose in the world.
5. Give us a high concept (25 words or fewer) for Rasel's
Song
With repeated assassination attempts, Prince Mannok must marry
a suitable noble bride. Shapeshifter Rasel threatens to win the prince’s
heart and disrupt royal plans.
Rasel’s Song is the exciting second book in the kingdom fantasy, the Akrad’s Legacy series.
To find out more about Jeanette and her books, check out these links.
Website - http://jeanetteohagan.com
Thanks for a great interview, Sally :)
ReplyDelete