Book One of the Cascadian Chronicles
Barnes and Noble
Publisher: Old Man in the CrossWalk Productions
Genre: Young Adult / Urban Fantasy/ Eco-thriller
First Published: June 21, 2012
Buy it from: AmazonBarnes and Noble
To Be Released:
Currently available as an ebook, available in print Fall 2012
Spirit Binder is a fantasy set a thousand
years after spirit (aka magic) rises to take back the world in an apocalyptic
event. It is book one of the Cascadian Chronicles.The first book of the Spirit
Bound young adult series, TIME WALKER, will be released in the fall of 2012.
The GIST:
"Theo
woke severely injured, covered in blood, and missing ten years of her
life. Just to complicate matters further, Theo was born under a prophecy;
one that has rabid followers with three different interpretations, all of whom
are willing to sacrifice her in order to fulfill it.
Not
knowing if she can trust the stranger she’s betrothed to, the warrior visiting
her dreams, or even her own mother, Theo tries to piece together her past only
to find that her present is far more dangerous. It’s the power of her own
blood that scares her most of all. This is a responsibility Theo never wanted,
and a destiny she cannot deny, “All because of a prophecy she was trying not to
believe in, but kept fulfilling.”
Setting is important especially in a post-apocalyptic fantasy so I'm happy to have a guest post from Meghan Ciana Doidge, author of the upcoming Spirit Binder, here to talk about it. And she came prepared with visuals!
What Inspired
Spirit Binder: Setting/Location
When tackling a new story I always come up with, and
then explore, the central idea – the inciting incident that (hopefully) pulls
the reader into the story – often this incident takes place in the very
first scene, as it does in Spirit Binder when Theo wakes covered in blood and
missing the memories of the last ten years of her life.
At some point in the writing of this initial idea, I usually
feel like I need to ground the story in a setting, and, as with Spirit Binder,
I often default in using the very setting I see out my office window every day.
Now, seeing as this is a post-apocalyptic fantasy set a thousand or so years in
the future, Theo’s world does not look exactly like mine, actually it looks
quite different, but I thought it might be fun to share the view that Theo
gazes upon when looking for a little bit of peace.
The first half of the novel takes place in Holyburn
Castle, where Theo watches the sun set over the ocean and mountains. She
references the Twin Sisters (mountain peaks) and, later, the Salish Sea, which
tells us that the castle is nestled within the North Shore Mountains. Another
hint, further into the story, references a major change in geography, and
something that is dominant in my own spectacular office view, no longer exists
in Theo’s.
Wiki article links:
North Shore Mountains: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ North_shore_mountains
Salish Sea: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Salish_Sea
The second half of the novel takes place in the Aerie,
home to the Chancellor of the NorthWest. Here Theo sees “a granite monolith that looked like the
weathered but proud face of a man staring down at the massive fjord that cut
through the valley below.” This is a big hint as to
where the Aerie is situated.
Wiki Article link:
The Chief: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Stawamus_Chief
The Fjord: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Howe_Sound
That’s a lot of links, but I thought it might be fun
to share the setting of Spirit Binder. And, hopefully, that provides a little
insight when reading the novel.
Thanks Markella, for the opportunity to guest post!
Meghan
Author of After The Virus, Spirit Binder, and Time
Walker (Fall 2012)
Can't you just feel that fresh mountain air?
Anyway, thank you Meghan for the guest post and the links! They really help when thinking about the scene.
Author BIO
Meghan Ciana Doidge is an
award-winning writer based out of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She has
a penchant for bloody love stories, superheroes, and the supernatural. She also
has a bit of a thing for chocolate, potatoes, and sock yarn; though not all together,
that would just be yucky.