Magic of Solstice Tour Featuring C.B. MacGillavry

Welcome to the 11th day of the Magic of Solstice Fantasy Writers' Tour 2015!

If you haven't done so already, you can follow the tour on Facebook. Tomorrow's hosts are Nichole Giles and Cheri Schmidt. I'll also be sharing an interview with my character, Kado, from my Shadow Stalker Serial. Today I've got C.B. MacGillavry with me and she has shared a guest post written by one of her characters, Twang, and some other little tidbits! 

C.B. Mac Gillavry studied English and Dutch literature, she has an affinity for Colonial Dutch literature. C.B., like so many authors, started writing as soon as she was able to write, although the actual reading started at a later stadium, with the discovery of Jane Austen. She enjoys many different genres and writers, preferably in the original language. The environment is a key topic in her writings and she ideally writes for young adults, in the hope of enchanting them, even if just for a short while.

Connect with the Author on her website/blog!

The Eco fantasy series Domus Dianae for young adults is composed, so far, of novels and short stories revolving around a group of characters of various nature and backgrounds.

About Supermoon

The first short novel’s main character is a girl of seventeen, Victoria Springer, who finds herself endangered by three people. Their goal is to pollute the Lake Garda and kill the girl. She finds out that she has magical powers she was destined to have, thanks to the aid of people and fantastic creatures who live in and around a highly magical place. From very shy and reluctant, she grows to accept a more active role in the story. She also learns about dragons and fairies, gnomes and magic, and at the end of the novel she finds love.

About Here be Dragons! A Michaelmas Tale

The first short story picks up where the novel has left, with the main character struggling to accept her new relationship and finding out more about the boy she loves. She is taught about certain mechanics in the magical world and has to fight against poachers in order to save the life of a group of nymphs and the dragons from exposure.

About The lights of Saint John: A Fairy’s Tale

The second short story is a fairy tale, the main character is Agatha the fairy, who has to overcome her past issues with long lost lovers and grow towards another more suitable partner, a nature spirit she encounters on a quest. She has to help him find the golden cloth, in order to save nature from the greed of men. She fight against her last lover, which is also a metaphor for her fighting against all the wrong he has done to her.

Domus Dianae is the magical place on the shores of the Lake Garda, Italy, around which the series revolves. There is an ecological theme waving through every individual story, together with a quote from Shakespeare and a song setting the tone of the  individual tales. The fantasy element also brushes against both real historical events and Greek mythology, as the place chosen for the tales has historically been home to a Greek colony and further inhabited throughout history.

The series will include at least two more short stories and a longer novel (work in progress), mostly set in Indonesia.

And now for a guest post by Twang:

Hello, my real name is Alexandra Drerae Ramsey, but my friends call me Twang, because that’s the sound the arrow makes, whenever I shoot with my crossbow. I’m very good at shooting with the crossbow, by the way.

I live in a castle in Schotland, it’s an ancient mansion and it was built by my ancestors, in order to protect the Loch nearby. We are part of the Protection Group of the Loch, we look after the eco system, the plants, the animals, pretty much everything that has to do with Nature. The Loch is one of the Sources of Magic, so what we really protect is the Magic.

The caslte I live in is divided in four apartments: one is for me; one is where my fiancé Steve lives and he’s the Protector of the Source. Gabe is our healer and herbalist, and he lives in the third apartment. The last one is empty right now, but you always need a place for Grandma, right?

My primary task in the group is to train the dragons. Yes, I know, a girl looking after dragons sounds very cool. And it is! I breed a very special kind of dragons, they are taller than the ones on the Continent, they are almost regal and very intelligent. Little George is my youngest one, he was born around Christmas and he’s a bit naughty but he’s also very cute. I love him very much…

Steve is the love of my life, I’m glad I found him and he’s glad he found me. He’s a very talented Protector, very good at doing magic, but that might be because he’s a vampire. When I tell people that he’s a vampire, they often ask me if he sparkles or if he’s tried to eat me.

Well of course he has never tried toe at me, otherwise I would have dumped him a long time ago! And no, he doesn’t sparkle when exposed to daylight. He does have a very sensitive skin though, so he really needs good sunblock when we go to Italy, to visit our friends there. You see, our Source is not the only one in the world and we keep in touch with the other Groups.It’s good to have other people to share your experiences and thoughts with.

Last year we lost one of the Sources and that Group had to leave. Their Protector, Joe, dropped by before going to the Continent. We really enjoyed having him over, we took him to the feast in the village, when we celebrated Saint George. That’s always fun, because the people in the village think that my punch is the reason the see dragons around the place!

Oh, I nearly forgot to tell you about my hobbies: I ride my horse bareback, as I said I shoot with the crossbow but also with pretty much anything that shoots, I bake very well and I weld too. I know, it’s an odd combination, but the welding often comes in handy when I sew my dresses: they call my style steampunk…

I hope you liked this little introduction to my world. In case you want to know more about my dragons, here’s a scene from a short story I’m in, even if I’m not the protagonist of this one in particular. Enjoy the dragon! 

"O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright.
It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night
Like a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear."
--Romeo from "Romeo and Juliet" (1.5.43-45)

William Shakespeare

The Lights of Saint John: A Fairy’s Tale

Once upon a time, there lived a small, golden fairy who went by the name of Agatha. She lived among many other magical creatures, on the shores of the great blue lake, in an enchanted valley that carried the name of Valtenesi, Valley of the Athenians.

The little fairy had long straight blond hair and was known for her sweet smile that reflected her kind nature. She was able to fly thanks to transparent golden wings that looked far to big for her. They were adorned with very delicate and almost watermarked patterns.

Agatha was the one who was in charge of breeding and training the fireflies that embellished the fields on hot summer nights. Whilst she was preparing for the summer to come, for the feast of Saint John, she stopped at the house of her friend. Susanna was the human who lived in the Domus Dianae, the most magical place on the western shore of the Lake Garda.

It was a bright and shiny morning when Agatha flew into the enchanted garden, the sun shone golden in the light blue sky…

‘Georgie! Come back here. You’ll burn down all the trees…’

Twang ran after the electric blue dragon, while Susanna rushed to and fro with pans of water to put out the little fires. All the while she kept repeating the word no, like a never ending mantra, under her breath.

‘What’s going on?’ Victoria asked.

‘Little George is being a bit naughty. He was supposed to lit a small fire, but the thing got out of hand…’ Susanna yelled over her shoulder.

Victoria and Joe looked at the scene holding hands. They both sighed at once. The girl looked up to her boyfriend and asked,

‘Do you think I should do something?’

He turned his head to her, then to the scene and back to her again. He nodded,‘I’m afraid so.’

Victoria sighed and placed her hands against an imaginary wall. She closed her eyes, muttered a few words and big splashes water fell out of the sky right above the little fires. One after the other, the flames dimmed and turned into thin gray smoke plumes that snaked up to the sky.

‘Well done!’ Joe cheered.

Susanna sagged to the ground and the chanting stopped at once as well.

‘Come here, you little devil!’ said Twang brightly, when she took advantage of the little dragon’s surprise. He only looked up at the sky where the water had suddenly come from.

‘I guess this’ll do for the moment.’ Victoria added dryly.

The little fairy whizzed into the garden and called merrily to the others, ‘Having a bit of a problem with the pup?’

Twang took the dragon by the collar and pulled him gently towards the house. ‘I suppose… He’s lovely when he wants to be. He is an adolescent right now, so I have to work hard to make him behave. Dragons should be treated with a gentle hand, otherwise they might turn aggressive.’

Agatha smiled broadly. Susanna got up and slowly regained her composure. She turned to the fairy and said, ‘Hello dear Agatha, what brings you here?’

‘Oh, I’m on my way to the grass fields. I still have to pick the spot.’

‘You seem cheerful.’ Noted the woman.

‘I am! For the first time in a very long time, I am… and I want to keep it this way. I can’t wait to show you how well the Lights are doing.’

She rose in the sky again, waved at the others, and shot away laughing, enveloped in her golden light.

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