Spotlight #NewRelease "The Wild Rose and the Sea Raven" by Jennifer Ivy Walker
Please make welcome to the Tavern a sister rose (The Wild Rose Press) and lovely friend, Jennifer Ivy Walker! We're celebrating her debut new release, The Wild Rose and the Sea Raven. Before we hear what Jennifer has to say, let's take a peek into her intriguing new story...
In this dark fairy tale adaptation of a medieval French legend, Issylte must flee the wicked queen, finding shelter with a fairy witch who teaches her the verdant magic of the forest. Fate leads her to the otherworldly realm of the Lady of the Lake and the Elves of Avalon, where she must choose between her life as a healer or fight to save her ravaged kingdom. Tristan of Lyonesse is a Knight of the Round Table who must overcome the horrors of his past and defend his king or lose everything. When he becomes a warrior of the Tribe of Dana, a gift of Druidic magic might hold the key he seeks. Haunted and hunted. Entwined by fate. Can their passion and power prevail?
Sneak preview from The Wild Rose and the Sea Raven
The fairy witch motioned for Issylte to kneel at her side among the flowers. Her luminous brown eyes twinkled in the filtered sunlight.
“Every tree, plant, flower and herb has an essence. A spirit. A life force.” She gestured to the verdant forest all around.
Issylte raised her eyes to the lush canopy of trees overhead, the blue sky peeking through the fluffy clouds. She inhaled deeply, the green notes of pine mingling with the rich scent of earth and the tangy fragrance of blossoms in the early summer breeze.
“The essence of the forest can be beneficial. Benevolent. Essential for healing.” She picked up a sprig of red clover and handed it to Issylte with a knowing smile. “Yet others are harmful and deadly.” Maiwenn gestured to the alluring deep purple flowers before them.
Issylte’s breath caught in wonder. She sensed an aura. A tingle in her veins.
Maiwenn’s chestnut eyes bore deeply into hers. “Have you ever felt the thrum of the forest in your veins?”
Issylte nodded, her eyes wide with discovery and delight. She held Maiwenn’s gaze, nearly breathless with anticipation.
“That, Églantine, is power.” Maiwenn’s eyes were deep brown, like the nourishing earth of the Hazelwood Forest.
“You, my dear princess, are a forest fairy. Like me.”
Available from these online retailers ~
A Message from Jennifer Ivy Walker
As a high school French teacher, we used to study the Middle Ages in France in my advanced French IV class. Each year, we read the “roman courtois”--the medieval legend of “Tristan et Yseult” (Tristan and Isolde in English) --which I performed for them with handmade puppets.
We listened to the soundtrack of the French musical and the phenomenally popular French song, “La Tribu de Dana”, by the Celtic rap group Manau. That song was the inspiration for my “Tribe of Dana” in my trilogy!
We also watched the 2006 film with James Franco and Sophia Myles (with the French audio soundtrack.). And, for a culminating activity, my advanced students would always reenact the legend through “Le Théâtre en Classe”-- Theater in the Classroom—clad in medieval costumes and wigs, even performing mock sword fights on the school lawn outside my classroom!
Every year, I took my classes to the state French competition where my French I students would perform a play I had written, "Yseult la Belle et Tristan la Bête"--a combination of the medieval French legend with the fairy tale, "Beauty and the Beast".
Last summer, I had an epiphany--to incorporate my play into a trilogy. A paranormal fantasy medieval romance retelling of the legend of "Tristan et Yseult", interwoven with Arthurian myth, shapeshifters, Elves. magic. and dark fairy tales from the enchanted Forest of Brocéliande, birthplace of Merlin, Viviane-- the Lady of the Lake--and Lancelot du Lac.
My debut novel, "The Wild Rose and the Sea Raven", is a compilation of my lifelong dream of becoming a writer, my years of studying French literature, my experiences as a French teacher, my numerous trips to France-- exploring troglodyte caves, medieval pilgrimage sites, châteaux of the Loire Valley, Normandy, Bretagne, and Provence--and my love for myths and legends.
Meet the Author
Enthralled with legends of medieval knights and ladies, dark fairy tales and fantasies about Druids, wizards and magic, Jennifer Ivy Walker always dreamed of becoming a writer. She fell in love with French in junior high school, continuing her study of the language throughout college, eventually becoming a high school teacher and college professor of French. As a high school teacher, she took her students every year to the annual French competition, where they performed a play she had written, "Yseult la Belle et Tristan la Bête"--an imaginative blend of the medieval French legend of "Tristan et Yseult" and the fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast", enhanced with fantasy elements of a Celtic fairy and a wicked witch. Her debut novel, "The Wild Rose and the Sea Raven"--the first of a trilogy-- is a blend of her love for medieval legends, the romantic French language, and paranormal fantasy. It is a retelling of the medieval French romance of "Tristan et Yseult", interwoven with Arthurian myth, dark fairy tales from the enchanted Forest of Brocéliande, and otherworldly elements such as Avalonian Elves, Druids, forest fairies and magic. Explore her realm of Medieval French Fantasy. She hopes her novels will enchant you.
Connect with Jennifer here ~
