Eilean’s life wasn’t easy and now she has to save a God - great. The Spiral of Life: An Old Gods Story by Francesca McMahon Book Tour with Guest Post & Giveaway
Eilean’s life wasn’t easy and now she has to save a God - great
The Spiral of Life: An Old Gods Story
Eilean in the Otherworld Book 1
by Francesca McMahon
Genre: YA Contemporary Fantasy, Mythology
The first lesson Eilean MacAlistair
learned in blacksmithing: First, you harden, and then you
temper.
Otherwise, your metal will break.
The
same is true with life.
A few years back, Eilean didn’t temper herself, and she broke someone. Badly. Hospital badly.
Her family had to flee Scotland because of her, but now they’ve returned, and 17-year-old Eilean’s life feels like a forge with the temperature rising around her. Mamó is sick, her family is straining at the seams, and magic is real!
An Otherworld has been calling to her from beneath Loch Lomond.
When she answers, Eilean discovers a world of blacksmiths in ballgowns, cruel cyclopses, and chronically critical kelpies.
Because she didn't have enough problems to deal with already.
Will Eilean be able to temper herself against everything in this strange new world, and withstand the weight of her past? Or will she break once again?
Find out in the first adventure of Eilean in the Otherworld, The Spiral of Life, a young adult fantasy inspired by Celtic folklore.
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Silver
Daggar Tours Guest Post
Francesca
McMahon
Can you, for those who don’t know you
already, tell something about yourself and how you became an author?
·
So, hi, I’m Francesca (or Fran
as that’s the name I use in every day, Francesca just sounded better as the
author name haha) and I’m an author of fantasy, horror, and romance stories. I
was born in Oxford, England to a Glaswegian dad and an Essex mother so there
was often a little war about which rugby team to support.
·
I became an author because that
was the only thing I thought about. From the age of, like, 6? Maybe 8? I was
writing poetry. By aged 11 I’d written a whole play set during World War 2 (we
were learning about it in history) and at age 15 I’d written a whole novel. I
just never stopped creating and I knew that was what I wanted to do – I just
didn’t know it was possible until I went to university to study Creative
Writing. Now, here I am, and it’s mad.
What inspired you to write The Spiral of
Life?
·
It may be a little bit of a cop
out to say but, I have absolutely no idea. I was approached by Antoine Bandele
of Bandele Books and asked if I’d like to join an expanded world of stories
connected to his series TJ Young and the Orisha’s. He wanted to have multiple
mythologies and folklores explored in a world, sort of like Rick Riordan’s work
meets Marvel, and have authors of different backgrounds write them. So, when I
said yes, I knew I wanted to explore my Scottish heritage and dove into Celtic
mythology. To this day, I don’t know how I came up with the plot. I just
started plotting an idea one day and BOOM 30 pages later, I had the layout for
Eilean’s story completely off the cuff.
·
Some things changed here and
there with the help of alpha/beta readers but, I remember the only thing I had
in my mind when coming up with the story was that I wanted to examine the
effects of climate change and have a somewhat unconventional protagonist. I
can’t say if I’ve succeeded at that, that’s up to the readers but, yeah, I
guess the inspiration was those two things? But then it just went in its own
direction after that haha
What made you decide to get The Spiral
of Life made into an audiobook?
·
It was something I always
wanted to do but, with my previously published indie works, I couldn’t afford
to do it. Now that I have a publisher to hand as well as an engineer, I
immediately jumped on it. I want my work to be accessible to everyone. I have friends
who, like me, are dyslexic or ADHD, and can struggle with physical reading. I
also know people who are blind or visually impaired who have wanted to read my
work but struggle/can’t. Audiobooks are incredible tools that open up the story
to many people and I’ve wanted to do it so, when the offer was there, I had to
do it.
What is your favourite part of the book
and why?
·
Ooo this is both easy and hard.
I think, without spoilers, it’s the messaging I put into my characters. There’s
a lot of exploration of mental health in this story, as well as a small
starting look at neurodivergences, and as someone who is autistic (among other
things) and has a lot of mental health conditions, I wanted readers who may
have similar experiences to know that they are not alone. I know that’s
something I wanted growing up and so I wanted my characters to reflect that.
·
There are a few scenes
throughout the book that showcase these elements, one scene I thought was
important was one where a character has a panic attack after having to face
their fear and must work through a calming routine to escape the
fight/flight/freeze panic mode they’re experiencing. I thought it was important
to show the realities of those with mental health issues and, in some cases,
also show ways readers could help someone if they see them experiencing a panic
attack.
Fun Facts of the Writing Process:
·
I wrote the first full draft in
two weeks as I’d recently left my full-time job and had a lot of time on my
hands. I would NOT recommend anyone doing that as I immediately got sick from
burn-out after. It is a little fun fact though, I think.
Which of your novels can you imagine
being made into a movie?
·
Is it egotistical to say all of
them? It may be how I write but every scene I work on I picture it in my head
with a cast of characters. Like, when I wrote my first book Home to the Wild (a
sapphic Tarzan retelling series) I would have to be able to picture every scene
in a movie to know if it worked or not. It was an animated movie specifically
for that story whereas with Eilean in the Otherworld I definitely see it more
in live-action. I’d love if one of my stories was adapted one day – that’s the
dream as an author, or at least, my dream as an author.
What literary pilgrimages have you gone
on?
·
Ooh, so, I can kind of cheat
with this. I was born in Oxford which, as many people might know, has a loot of
author history. The main two pilgrimages I’ve gone on is going to The Eagle and
Child pub which is where the literary group The Inklings, which had authors
like C.S. Lewis and Tolkien part of it, and would write there sometimes. Sadly,
it has since closed down due to the pandemic but it was a great experience.
I’ve also explored the university parks, not for any specific author reasons
but, as many classic British creatives went to Oxford, I liked the idea that
I’m exploring the nature they too likely spent time in as well.
Have you written any other books that
are not published?
·
I have a few in the works!
Including the sequel for The Spiral of Life, can’t say much on it but it is
slowly working it’s way through the process. I do have a few other things, like
sports romances and some cozy fantasy, in the works, but right now it’s the
Eilean sequel.
For a last thing, can you give us the
sales pitch for The Spiral of Life?
·
If you love Percy Jackson
and/or BBC’s Merlin but want a little more gay in your fantasy adventure
stories, then you’ve come to the right place. With a blacksmithing lesbian, a
druid sunshine queen bisexual, and a sarcastic and snide kelpie companion, The
Spiral of Life is an easy-to-read young adult contemporary fantasy that focuses
on the characters journey more than the journey itself.
·
For the girls, the gays, and
the they’s – you can get The Spiral of Life wherever you read books, and don’t
forget to support your local libraries.
Francesca McMahon was born in Oxford, England, to a Scottish father and an Essex mother. They gained a B.A. in Creative Writing at Edge Hill University and was shortlisted for the university’s Dame Janet Suzman Playwriting Award in 2019. Since graduating, Francesca has worked consistently in publishing while working on her writing of fantasy, horror and romance fiction, as well as various tabletop RPGs and screenplays. As a queer person, their work is dedicated to the LGBTQIA+ community, and she hopes that they will all find a home in her imaginary worlds.
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Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!
$10 Amazon giftcard – 1 winner,
Audiobook of The Spiral of Life – 2 winners!
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I enjoyed the excerpt and guest post. Thanks for sharing.
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