Friday, August 2, 2013

AUTHORS ARE ROCKSTARS: FEATURING LEIGH FALLON'S CARRIER SERIES




Carrier of the Mark was one of the very first ARC requests that I was approved for from HarperTEEN and I remember being extremely excited! I had such high hopes for this bright new shining debut and Leigh Fallon did not disappoint. It was so incredibly easy to fall into the deep intoxicating and beautifully created world that she so originally put forth in an amazing debut novel. I gobbled this entire book up greedily in a matter of hours and instantly wanted more. CRAVED MORE! No, I knew that I had to have more and I didn't want to be kept waiting. This was such a super fantastic world to get sucked into and I cannot wait to get my hands on a copy of the sequel, Shadow of the Mark so that I can see what happens next in this phenomenally gripping and intensely captivating series. I know that no matter happens, Leigh Fallon is not going to let me down whatsoever. She has such a fantastic way of weaving mythology and realism together, where they blend so effortlessly and you follow along with the natural ebb and flow of the story she's telling. She writes with so much passion, depth, and beauty that it's hard not to fall in love with whatever story she's spinning to life. Plus, she is one of the sweetest, most amazing, and nicest authors that I've had the pleasure of speaking with via email. I absolutely love her to pieces and I admire her talent, more than anything, to tell a story and captivate you until the end leaving you...CRAVING MORE!

So, yes, in my book LEIGH FALLON IS A ROCKSTAR!!!


Which, is why I am so super excited and stoked to have such a fierce author here on my blog today talking a little bit about the mythology behind the Carrier series. Be prepared to be wowed, amazed, stunned, and captivated as she takes you behind the scenes of the Carrier series. If you have not yet read this book, then you are definitely going to want to pick it up for sure. I cannot stress enough how amazing it is!

Creating the Mythology in the Carrier Series
by Leigh Fallon


I drew my initial inspiration for the beautiful Irish countryside, and in particular, the pretty town of Kinsale, it’s filled with ancient buildings, historical sites, and crumbling castles. I then delved into my childhood, to all my school tours that brought me to amazing historical sites around Ireland and in my hometown of Dublin. There were some places in particular that stayed with me. Trinity College, Christchurch, and Newgrange, to name a few.

Then I did a bit of research into Ireland’s pagan history and ancient celtic mythology and realized that many of the sites I’d loved as a child had ties to stories of the Goddess Danu. She was the mother of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Danu represents birth and beginnings. She is thought of as the goddess who came before everything else. She represents light and dark and giving and receiving. She is Mother Nature in many respects.

To the Celts, Tuatha de Danann, Danu’s children have to struggle against their enemies, the evil Fomorians, whose own “Mother Goddess” is Domnu. Irish lore contains many tales of the struggle between the Children of Domnu, representing darkness and chaos, and the Children of Danu, representing light and order.

In Carrier, I took the story of Danu and the Tuatha Dé Danann and played with it a little. I had it that Danu gifted each of her human children one of her powers, earth, air, fire, and water. Each of her children would bear ‘The Mark’ symbolizing their power and lineage. Then instead of having separate Children of Domnu representing the dark side of their powers, I had the Tuatha Dé Danann being both, representing the internal struggle of the power they hold the and pull of the light and the dark. I introduced the ancient druids (I adore the old stories of druidism in Ireland) who took on the role of protecting and guiding the Tuatha Dé Danann in their struggle to choose light over dark, and to achieve their ultimate goal, aligning the elements of earth to restore harmony in the absence of their mother, Danu.


As we all know, humans, in most cases, are deeply flawed, and I loved the idea of teens struggling with the usual issues along with out of control gifts that really belong in the hands of the gods. It all leads to oodles of trouble, but there’s a lot of fun to be had along the way.



 photo CARRIERSERIES_zps96812e4a.png



Carrier of the Mark (Carrier #1)

"Their love was meant to be."

When Megan Rosenberg moves to Ireland, everything in her life seems to fall into place. After growing up in America, she's surprised to find herself feeling at home in her new school. She connects with a group of friends, and she is instantly drawn to darkly handsome Adam DeRÍs.

But Megan is about to discover that her feelings for Adam are tied to a fate that was sealed long ago—and that the passion and power that brought them together could be their ultimate destruction.


Shadow of the Mark (Carrier #2)

"Their love could destroy them all."

Through the ages, Marked Ones have harnessed the powers of the four elements: Water, Fire, Earth, and Air. Much about the elements is shrouded in mystery, but one thing is certain: A relationship between two Marked Ones has the potential to cause widespread devastation.

Megan and Adam—Air and Water—are determined to defy the risks.

But the power that swirls inside Megan is growing in twisted ways. And the closer she is to Adam, the closer Megan comes to unleashing a dark force that could spell destruction for the entire Marked line.



Visit these places below to purchase these beauties:


IndieBound  Amazon B&N  BAM 
 Book Depository






 photo leighfallon_zps287d869e.pngLeigh Fallon was born in South Africa, raised in Dublin, Ireland and moved to Cork in her 20’s. While living in beautiful Kinsale, Co Cork she discovered a love of writing. She writes mainly for the young adult market. Her debut novel, The Carrier of the Mark, prompted her to abandon her ‘riveting’ career in corporate treasury and she has been writing ever since. She has another three books in the Carrier series and a few other projects she's working on. Her family and she now share their time between Ireland and the US.



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To check out all of the other AWESOME FEATURED ROCKSTAR AUTHORS on this tour, please click the link below! I promise you, you are absolutely NOT going to want to miss out on this FUN for sure. There are so many amazing authors being spotlighted, so many fantastic giveaways, and just a lot of fun in general.




6 comments:

  1. Leigh is awesome! I've got Carrier and Shadow in Audible so I'll be joining this world soon! I can hardly wait.

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    1. I am really excited to see that you'll be joining her magnificent world. She's definitely one of my favorite authors. :)

      Let me know when you've read them, we'll have to discuss.

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  2. Yay thanks for being a tour host and I love Leigh's post!

    Hugs,
    Jaime

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    Replies
    1. Aw, thanks for the compliments. *g* I had a lot of fun being part of this tour and also getting to post about one of my favorite authors. I love her writing and the world that she has created! :)

      Thanks for stopping by!

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  3. Great stop I loved Carrier of the Mark and need to get Shadow of the Mark.

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  4. I can't wait to read this series!,

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