Welcome to EskieMama & Dragon Lady Reads
Saturday Spotlight!
Today we are spotlighting Amber Schunk-Clubb
Roliath- The Eidelon Series!
Enter below for a chance to win a copy of
Roliath-The Eidelon Series from Amber Schunk-Clubb
Amber Schunk-Clubb's
Roliath- The Eidelon Series!
Real Vampires May Not Be What You Thought…
For centuries people have always viewed vampires as monsters! They can only go outside at night, be killed with a stake through the heart and harmed by garlic and holy water. They have no reflections, sleep in coffins and drain humans of all their blood to stay alive.
As Alex Keen is told about the past of Geannifer Whitlence he quickly learns that all of the myths, legends and stories about vampires that we were told about were all just lies covering up the truth. Even the name they go by; Vampires! They’re called Eidelon, they live out their lives every day alongside the human race with many similarities. They have different races/clans, they live with rulers, leaders and followers. They even have laws and a legal system of their own. The most forbidden law, is to not kill anyone from the human race.
While they do have to feed off of humans to live, they do not have to kill them in order to do so. In present day Geannifer Whitlence is an Eidelon in the Azeron clan possessing many talents and abilities that no other Eidelon is capable of. Roliath is in a sense an origin story of how she became who she is today. How she met Devon, her life-long partner since Roliath’s beginning; Andrea, her best friend and progeny and all of the Eidelon that still travel with her in present day and how their life-long battle with the Osirians began.
Grab YOUR copy TODAY!
Q & A with Amber Schunk-Clubb about
Roliath- The Eidelon Series!
Tell us about Roliath.
Roliath is the first of five books in The Eidelon Series. The readers are introduced to Geannifer Whitlence who is an Eidelon from the Azeron clan. Through her origin story of how she transitioned, we learn all about the world of Eidelon, or, as humans know them to be…vampires. They live behind what they call “The Veil” which is the illusion/view of what the human race has of their kind. They are made up horror tales of vicious monsters who can only roam at night, feed off of humans, draining them of their blood to survive. They have no reflections, sleep in coffins and can be killed with a simple stake through the heart. The humans believe that vampires are just made up stories and all Eidelon prefer and keep it that way. When in reality, they have clans and laws that they all live and abide by, just as the humans do. In fact, their number one rule is that it is forbidden to kill anyone from the human race. It may be necessary for them to feed from the humans, but it is NOT necessary to kill them.
Roliath not only tells the tale of Geannifer Whitlence, but gives us a more realistic and plausible view/twist on vampires.
What initially inspired you to write Roliath?
Well…funnily enough… I came up with the base storyline for Geannifer because of a class assignment in high school. I fell in love with writing at a young age and found myself taking specialty writing courses whenever I could. This project originally came from a hand written short story for class. It may have been for school, but the storyline and characters stuck with me and felt that I could do so much more with it. So, in my free time I continued the storyline, even after I graduated. Believe it or not, the story actually started out with a normal, typical style/theme and version of vampires. (lol) As I continued to work, twist, mold and create characters and backstories for them over the years, I slowly started to debate about throwing in a different theme to all of it…especially with the ideas I had for book 2. After more debating and plotting, I decided to change it up to create a more plausible view…even though that meant having to go through 100+ pages of typed story to edit and change it all around. From there I just continued on creating all of the in’s and out’s for this new world. I never had a lot of time to dedicate just to my writing, as life tends to get busy. But I always worked on this series whenever I had the chance. Once I knew the final direction I wanted to go with it, I went from having storylines for 2 books, to having full storylines for 5.
Tell us little about the characters in Roliath.
What was the hardest part of writing this book?
For me, I’d have to say it was writing the synopsis/blurb for the book. As I mentioned before, I worked on the storylines, characters, rules, ideas, everything for the entire series whenever I had free time. However, free time to spend actually writing was never really something that I had a lot of. I created, notated ideas for all 5 books, and slowly worked on book 1 for nearly 11 years! It wasn’t until a couple of years ago when my husband gave me the opportunity to actually dedicate my time to my writing. Once I was able to sit down, and dedicate myself to finishing the first book, finding content was never the hard part, I spent years creating the content. I just never had the time to actually write it all out. But then, I was given the task of writing the synopsis. I don’t know why, but that darn synopsis was probably one of most difficult things I’ve ever had to write.
What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?
There are many parts that were amongst my favorite to write, picking a favorite (for anything really) is a challenge. Writing the connection and romance between Geann and Devon along with writing the creation of hope for Dewit are amongst the top. But, I must admit that writing all the parts where Geann gets to show off her fighting skills and bad assery was a lot of fun to write. Geann is the female heroine in a sense and can do things that not even other MALE Eidelon can do. She may have a soft side, as most women do, but that soft side is purely a cover for what she can actually do. Roliath only skims the surface to her true potential, but as we go into book 2 we start to learn the rest of them. (Which has also been a lot of fun to write ;) )
What are your future project(s)?
Is there anything else you would like to tell the readers about this book/series.
Now an exciting excerpt from
Roliath- The Eidelon Series!
The moment Luke and Sam had their backs to her she began to walk as fast as she could
without being noticed to where she’d seen Devon. She approached the entranceway between
the two buildings and began to smile as she peered into the darkness beyond it. She looked
around to see that no one was looking and then stepped into the entranceway. There was a
large crate to her left that stood taller than she was. The moment she took a step past it
Devon reached out and grabbed her waist pulling her close to him. She threw her arms
around his neck as he gently backed her up against the wall and began kissing her.
“Hi darlen,” he whispered.
“Hi,” she whispered back and then gave him a soft, short kiss.
“That was the longest three days ever! It was three days too many. I don’t know how I
thought I could make five?”
Before Geannifer could reply he began kissing her again. Devon took his hands off her face
and wrapped his arms around her. She loosened her hold around his neck and let her arms
lay on his shoulders and pulled back with a smile on her face.
“Three days was pretty unbearable for me too.”
“Well, that was the only time it will ever happen, you’re stuck with me now, remember? I’m
not going anywhere.”
“Good!” she whispered and leaned forward to give him another kiss.
“You know Geann, Luke is right. You do deserve to have fun tonight!”
“Oh, I know!” she replied with the same grin she had when she answered Luke. “And I have
every intention on enjoying myself tonight.”
Devon grinned widely back at her and leaned forward to kiss her again.
“I don’t mean just behind closed doors sweetheart, we can enjoy that later. I mean during
the festivities as well! They are, after all taking place mostly because of you!”
“I know. I will, I promise.”
“Good. I say it starts right now. That song is still playing.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, now that you have me here you won’t have to delegate the dance to the Sheriff
anymore. You deserve to have that dance.”
Geannifer smiled and gently placed her right hand on his cheek but he continued speaking
before she had the chance to distract him.
“Will you take this dance with me, Geann?”
“Devon, you know I’d love to. But do you have any idea what you will get yourself into if
you do that? You will be the social gossip for who knows how long! The townspeople have
never seen me with a man before. Several of them have tried and failed to get me to date,
dance or even to go out to dinner with them.”
“I know what I’m getting myself into here, Geann.”
“I don’t think you do, Devon! Are you prepared to become a bigger topic than the actual
meaning of this festival? Because that’s what will happen. Once we go out there, there is no
turning back. You will be stuck with me and under everyone’s eyes for who knows how
long!”
“But I’m crazy about you, so that’s fine with me. Besides, your people and my men are going
to have to get used to seeing us together. We’re not going to be able to hide what we have
for very long.”
“Your men?”
“Well, yeah. They are kind of like your townspeople. They have never seen me with a
woman before, or even shown interest in another woman. In fact, I hear that there is a bet
going on if I am actually involved with you or not.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah! Of course Dillon and Kenneth have teamed up and are having Dillon saying it’s not’s
true; totally rigging the whole thing to their advantage.”
“Of course they are,” Geannifer laughed.
“Come on, what do you say, Geann? The song isn’t going to last forever.”
She did not verbally answer but continued to stare into his eyes and smiled. He leaned
forward to give her one more peck on the lips then gently took hold of her hand and held it
in his own. They stepped out of the darkness of the building. Devon placed his arm around
her waist as he escorted her back towards the crowd. As they approached the stage she was
ready to dance on the sides but Devon continued to lead her to the middle of the stage.
Other couples smiled and looked at them in curiosity as they passed by and Geannifer just
smiled and nodded hello as they did. They reached the middle of the stage and Devon
turned to face her holding out his hand with a smile.
“May I have your first dance, my lady?”
Geannifer looked around to see everyone nearby watching them. She smiled as she looked
back into Devon’s eyes. She placed her hand into his and placed her other arm on his
shoulder. Devon smiled back at her and pulled her closer to him as they began to dance to
the music.
The music began to slow down a little and Geannifer gently laid her head on his left
shoulder. Devon moved her right hand and held it on his right shoulder as he wrapped his other arm even tighter around her waist. Geannifer could hear the whispers of the
townspeople, both out loud and in their thoughts and began to laugh a little. She lifted her
head up to look at him and they both smiled. He grabbed hold of her hand and gently spun
her out, then held her hand high and she twirled in a circle back into his arms again. She
wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled even wider than before.
“Their thoughts are louder than their whispers.”
“Well, they do not matter. It’s just you and me out here. Just block them out.”
“Normally I don’t have a problem blocking them out, but tonight it’s kind of
hard, they are all I can hear.”
“Well, we will just have to do something about that, won’t we?” He spun her out again and
did an arm-twist as he spun her back into him then picked up the pace along with the music.
“I never would have pegged you for someone who can dance!” she admitted.
“Yeah well, when I was mortal my mom taught me how. She was an incredible dancer. She
mainly practiced ballet, but she was talented all the way around. Dance was a big part of her
life and she wanted to make sure I knew the art of it too. Actually, you’re the first one I’ve
danced with since her.”
“Really?” she whispered.
“Yes and there will be many more occasions to come.”
“Well, don’t I feel special?”
“Because you are! I can’t help but to notice that for someone who has never accepted a
dance before, you are doing extremely well!”
“You think so?”
“Yes, I do.”
“So, you mean to tell me that you didn’t notice when I stepped on your foot when we first
started?”
“Of course I did!” he softly laughed. “But you played it of rather well. I don’t think anyone
else noticed.”
Geannifer smiled widely and couldn’t help but to let out a small chuckle.
“Well, actually, I guess I learned when I was a mortal as well. After my mother passed away I
went to live with my aunt and my cousins. My aunt was always having us kids go to those
stupid social gatherings with ballroom dancing and such. My cousin Bethany and I were not
very good so my aunt made us take classes.”
“She did?”
“Yes. God forbid we embarrass her because we couldn’t perform one of the traditional
dances correctly.”
The song began to come to an end so Devon spun her out one more time and slightly
dipped her with its last note. He gently pulled her back to him as she wrapped her arms
around his neck and smiled. The air stood still for only a matter of seconds before the band
started to play another song. All the couples on the floor began to dance again, still glancing
over their shoulders to take a peek at Geannifer and Devon. He loosely wrapped his arms
around her waist as they began dancing their next dance.
“You know, Devon, we are going to have to come up with some kind of story for them. It’s
one thing telling the truth to your men about us, but not the mortals. You know how their
minds work; we used to think like them. What are we going to say when they ask us how we
met? They will never buy the truth.”
“Hmmm, you’re right, you do have a point. You couldn’t have at least said yes once or twice
to a dinner invitation, huh? Then maybe they would buy it.”
“Hey!”
“I’m kidding,” he laughed. “So, they wouldn’t buy it if someone you never met before won
you over, but what if it was someone you used to know? That should be more plausible for
them to believe, right?”
“Perhaps. What are you thinking?
“I don’t know. We can combine our mortal pasts or something. Say we grew up together as
kids, or dated as teenagers or something.”
“I don’t hate the sound of that. It’ll be like creating the way we should have lived our mortal
lives.”
“Exactly what I was thinking.”
Devon smiled and moved his hands to gently hold her face in them. She smiled back and he
leaned forward to kiss her. They stopped dancing for a few seconds as they kissed then
slowly began to dance again as they gave each other a few short pecks before they actually
stopped.
“Well, that’ll give them something to talk about for a while.”
“Sorry, darlen, I couldn’t contain myself. So, how long do these things usually last anyway?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Well, I’m suddenly thinking about what we’ll be doing behind those closed doors tonight.”
“Oh sure, now you’re thinking the right way, now that you have gotten us into the public eye.
Then you must not realize that we will be stuck out here for at least the next three or four
hours?”
Author Bio:
Amber Schunk-Clubb was born and raised in Colorado where she found her love for writing as a young child. From poetry to short stories she always found unique ways to put her imagination into words. What started out as something to do in her free time quickly became a passion as she got older. Going into high school where she had more options, she took creative writing courses and specialty classes to help her with her passion for writing.
In the beginning of her Junior year in high school she moved to California and continued with her personal writing ventures. She took another creative writing class offered her Senior year, feeling as though that she couldn't have been luckier to land the class. Unlike any other class she took in the past, this teacher gave assignments given on college levels and was able to broaden the way she thought and wrote. Teachers can make such a great impact on a students life and the lessons she learned is still valued to this very day.
After she graduated she continued to live out her life for 13 years, continuing with her writing off and on as life allowed. Then she made a move to relocate to Missouri where she still resides with her husband and two step children.
After many years of continuous writing and creating the world of Eidelon she met her husband. He gave her the push she needed to concentrate more on her writing and the time to devote herself to it. With his love, encouragement and devotion to her talent they decided together to make the necessary steps to move forward with Roliath.
After many years of continuous writing and creating the world of Eidelon she met her husband. He gave her the push she needed to concentrate more on her writing and the time to devote herself to it. With his love, encouragement and devotion to her talent they decided together to make the necessary steps to move forward with Roliath.
Great Interview !
ReplyDelete