There's an intriguing book being featured here, today - Alchemy - the prequel to Shama's Drum by Ailsa Abraham. If I remember correctly, Ailsa penned this prequel as a result of some readers asking some questions. For example: How did Iamo and Riga from Shaman's Drum meet? And how did they come to be working together in Shaman's Drum to avert the dark forces?I've not yet managed to read Alchemy, though I enjoyed reading Shaman's Drum some time ago.
The questions I've asked now have helped me to piece together the links, before I embark on the prequel read!
Hello and a very warm welcome to you, Ailsa! It’s wonderful to have you back again to share your new book – Alchemy - from Crooked Cat Publishing, released last week. I think the cover design is fantastic and I’m sure your readers will love it, too! Alchemy is a prequel to ‘Shaman’s Drum’ and charts among other things the beginning of the relationship of Riga and Iamo, which I'm keen to know more about but from the blurb I see there are other interesting characters to get to know better in Alchemy. What about Professor Adrian Oliver? What's he like?
Professor
Adrian Oliver (Ade to his very close friends) has a reputation for being the
“go to” man for religious history (religion now being considered a more
historical than current academic study). He is a more elderly and less attractive
version of Neil Oliver or Brian Cox – known on TV and subsequent books and DVD
collections. When not working with TV companies he lectures at a University in
“the Capital” (never specified where but usually taken as London)
He sounds like a busy man who perhaps enjoys some notoriety. How does Iamo come to know Professor Oliver?
Iamo (under
his original family name) was his star pupil before Iamo took holy orders.
Now that must have been an interesting moment for Adrian! Has Professor Oliver also taught Riga at some earlier
time?
No, they meet in Alchemy for the first time as her group
of magical Assasins, The Black Shamans, are not invited to sit on the Council.
What has Professor Oliver done to bring him to the
attention of the Council of the Wise?
When the
Council of the Wise is formed to control the newly-emerging caste of
magic-users, he is co-opted as their “Lord Scribe” although he prefers to refer
to himself as their Archivist. His reputation as a
totally neutral observer on the subject of religions of all types made him the
obvious choice. They needed an impartial non-participant to record their
meetings.
Yet another onerous job, I should think! Is Professor Oliver’s life a lonely one? Is his contact
through his historical religious books his main, or only, source of building
relationships?
Although he
has a wide circle of friends, he is single when we meet him. During the book he
has a tenuous and fragile on/off affaire with Helen Mendoza, a famous writer of
crime fiction who lives most of the time in Spain. I hope readers will be as
engrossed in their “will they/won't they?” situation as they are in the other
sub-plots.
Sounds intriguing! Can you describe Professor Oliver for us?
He is in
his fifties, has overly-long white hair, wears glasses and could kindly be
called “tubby”. The hair has given him the nickname “Einstein” amongst his
University colleagues. His appeal is mainly through
his character. Despite his anti-religious stance, he is deeply moral and cannot
bear discrimination or unfairness of any sort.
How does Professor
Oliver become involved with any strange events, or rumours with regard to
insurrection, or something that will upset the status quo of the new regime?
He is privy to everything that is discussed in the Council
but is sworn to secrecy. It is only when Iamo turns to him as his trusted
tutor, to confirm his suspicions, that Adrian and Helen become inextricably
tied up in the ensuing adventure.
How does Iamo meet Riga?
They are both instructed by their superiors to work
together.
Do they join forces together voluntarily to thwart the
evil that is growing round them, or does some other person bring them together
to act on their behalf?
Absolutely not! If they had been given the choice they
would have refused to have anything to do with each other. They are chalk and
cheese both in personality and in beliefs.
A volatile mix! Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about
Alchemy?
Only that I think this book, despite being a prequel is a
much more rounded and fulfilling read. I do hope that people will read them in
the correct order as Shaman's Drum will make much more sense to readers knowing
all the background.
Thank you for sharing with me today, Ailsa!
It's been a pleasure as usual, Nancy. Thank you for
inviting me.
A world without war?
Professor Sawhele Fielding
stumbles across an invention that would change the world; something so
monumental, it could spell the end of environmental disaster and conflict. With
the help of her father, a shadowy figure in the world of international banking,
she begins to set into motion the biggest upheaval the planet has seen.
But in a changed world, dark
forces are threatening the fragile peace. Where modern technology is
proving useless, old magic from a bygone era might just save the
day. Adrian Oliver, expert in ancient religions is skeptical until faced
with incontrovertible proof that ancient evil is abroad once again.
How could a Utopian dream of
free fuel and peaceful co-existence turn into a nightmare?
Iamo, a
priest of the Mother Goddess and Riga, a Black Shaman assassin
captain, are thrown together – reluctantly at first – to face a threat
that nobody could have imagined before “The Changes”.
ALCHEMY is the prequel to
Shaman's Drum which features the adventures of Iamo and Riga through their
world in the near future, where the established religions of our own days had
been banned.
Ailsa
Abraham writes under two names and is the author of six novels. Alchemy is the
prequel to Shaman's Drum, published by Crooked Cat in January 2014. Both are
best-sellers in their genres on Amazon.
She has
lived in France
for over twenty years and enjoys knitting and crochet as well as motorbikes.
Her interests
include campaigning for animal rights, knitting, crochet, riding motorbikes,
experimenting with different genres of writing and trips back to the UK to visit
friends and family.
Slainthe!
Thanks for having me, Nancy. Re the photo, yes, I do sometimes have my Riga moments (more and more frequently as I get older hahaha)
ReplyDeleteYou can visit anytime, Ailsa. I love to hear your news. ;-)
DeleteEnjoyed this as much as I'm enjoying Alchemy... and Shaman's Drum before it. Tweeted this. Thanks Nancy & Ailsa. Blessings & Light
ReplyDelete