Starting the week of with something a little different…a character interview.
Raven Fire
Emma Miles
Is prophecy real; can Arridia and Joss defeat a god?
Evil never sleeps, and neither can the fire spirits who have guarded Kesta and her family so faithfully for more than fourteen years. United in a desire for peace, the four lands beneath the sky have enjoyed relative stability, but under the surface stirs unrest. Greed, ambition, disquiet, rebellion; and the ever-present threat of Geladan’s crazed god discovering she has been fooled.
Quiet Arridia is a Raven Scout, dedicated to the principles and hopes of her parents. When an opportunity presents itself to come home, she grasps it, longing to settle and find the love she has patiently waited for.
Fun-loving Joss is drawn to the court of Elden with all its colour, noise, and intrigue; but has he taken on more than a young man can survive?
Raven Fire is the final part of the breath-taking Fire-Walker saga.
If you could, would you dare to change the world?
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Who are you?
Lady Rosa Cainridge.
What three words best describe your personality?
Oh, um… Loyal, quiet, generous.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Sometimes I wish I could be a bit more assertive, but I’m a lot better than I used to be.
How would you describe the world you live in?
Here in the north, there are four lands beneath the sky, each very different. There is Chem to the north where their main economy used to be slavery, and the Covens ruled. Then there are the Borrows; barren islands filled with raiders and a hardy folk struggling to survive. We used to fear their raiders even here in Elden, but now they are a shattered people and allied to us.
The Fulmers were a wild mysterious place, until I learned about the people and even visited myself. The men and women there are a bit more… well, they are a bit freer in their relationships there than here in Elden.
My own land, Elden, is ruled by a king, the land owned by Jarls, and under them, Thanes. We are prosperous on the whole, much of our economy based around olive oil which we use for lamp fuel as well as for food. Also wine. My own family are wine growers, though their estate is small.
We and the Borrows don’t have magic, though they have Temerran the Bard. Elden used to have magic, but it was outlawed many years ago and all the witches slaughtered.
What do you do with your day?
When I’m not being dragged into some mission to save the world, I help to run the hold. My husband, Tantony, acts as steward to the Thane, but I take care of the gardens, food supplies, and the running of the household. It keeps me very busy. When I get time, I study witchcraft from the Thane’s books. I’m allowed, but it’s probably best if you don’t tell anyone.
What do you consider the most important event of your life so far, why?
I probably should say my wedding, but it was actually the day Kesta came into my life. She changed everything and led me to meet Tantony. As a lady-in-waiting to the old queen, and much older than the new, I was very much out of favour. When I was asked to attend the visiting Silene of the Fulmer Islands, Kesta, well… my whole life was turned upside down. Though not as much as Thane Jorrun’s was!
What traditions are important to your life?
Like most women of Elden, I’ll light a candle for the Goddess in a lady’s chapel, or in the privacy of my room. At harvest I still weave a corn doll to hang on my wall. I absolutely love the Fulmer Islands harvest tradition though, the way they sing as they return from the fields and exchange harvest crowns for ale when they reach the hold. There’s something so heart-warming about it. I fear my own people in Elden have grown a little too conservative over the years.
Are you spontaneous or do you always need to have a plan?
I much prefer to have a plan, but I have learned to act quickly when I have to.
Who do you consider to be your closest friend or best friend? Tell us a little about them.
Kesta. She changed my life, gave me courage and confidence. She has rather a fiery nature and can be very impulsive, though that’s been tempered a little over the years. When I first met her she was very young, and though used to responsibility, she lacked in patience and diplomacy. They’re things she has learned, but sometimes that temper still comes out. She’s kind though, and would protect those she loves with her life.
What is your greatest fear?
I guess it would be losing people I love.
Who is the person you despise the most, why?
Oh, I wouldn’t like to say that I despised anyone. I guess I was very disappointed in queen Ayline. She could have been a great queen, but she let bitterness and greed get in the way. But in her defence, she was badly led by others, and, well, the king wasn’t the best husband to her.
Who would you turn to if you were in desperate need of help?
Kesta, or the Thane.
I often get asked when I knew I was a writer; the answer is always. A writer is what I am, it’s in my soul. There have been times in my life when I couldn’t write, and times when my writing has been the only thing that kept me going. I think I always longed for something deeper from life, something more meaningful, and I found it in my imagination and in the music of words.
It was poetry which first caught my attention, and whilst my younger cousins called for ghost stories it was animals I first wrote of. I think I gravitated toward fantasy because of the freedom it gives, I could create my own worlds and decide my own rules. My Wind’s Children trilogy was born from an image that came to me whilst daydreaming, of a young man sitting alone below a bridge. I didn’t know who he was; it turns out neither did he, but we found out together.
I’m now working on my eleventh book and love writing more than ever, it’s an addiction, an obsession, but one I now share with my wonderful writing family. My beta readers, my editor, and you, my readers, having you with me on my journey means the world to me.
I write as much as I can around work, but I also try to squeeze in a ridiculous amount of hobbies! I’m a wildlife photographer and do a little archery. I paint, sculpt with clay, withies and driftwood, preferring to be outdoors if I can. I still have a love for the theatre, having started out in life studying backstage crafts, and a great love for language. I speak a little French, Romanian and Italian, ma non molto bene!
Thanks for reading this. If you read any of my books and love them, please come say hello and tell me, you’d be surprised at how much that means to an author.
Take care of yourself.
Em x
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