Monday 4 August 2014

Blog Tour + Interview + Giveaway - The Lost Kingdom by Stephanie Beerden


Find the tour schedule here.




The Lost Kingdom by Stephanie Beerden
Series: The Elements #1
Release date: April 28th 2014



Synopsis via Goodreads:


A Prophecy made long ago, announced the arrival of the new Ladies of Elements.



And now almost a millennia later, it finally came true …



All her life Arima thought she knew who and what she was. That is until the day of her sixteenth birthday came and her world is turned upside down, when she’s told she’s not a White Witch but Lady Spirit. And that she is the one that has been foretold, will unite the Five Ladies of Elements once again and save Ilendia and the Other Lands from Ahriman, the Demon King.



At first Arima refuses to accept her new fate, but when Shanums come and destroy her village and kill her loved ones, she has no choice but to flee and fall right into the destiny she never wanted.



As she grudgingly starts her journey into the unknown, she is accompanied by her unicorn familiar Sirrim, Blythe, a Vampire with a dark past and Myrddin, a mysterious Ljosalfar.



And the longer her journey lasts, the more Arima begins to realise that she can’t escape her own destiny and she must learn to control her powers and learn to be a Lady for the sake of the Sisters she doesn’t know and the people of Ilendia and the Other Lands.



However, things get more complicated when Arima comes into the possession of a key. Her instincts compel her to go towards danger when she discovers that the key she holds, can unlock the legendary kingdom of Eléssima, the home of the Ladies of Elements.



She will have to make the choice to follow her instincts …



…or stay on the path that has been laid out for her.











 ABOUT THE AUTHOR





Stephanie Beerden was born on Friday the 13th (no joke, she really was) in a small city called Genk in Belgium. 
She has always been fascinated with the occult, magic and books. 
Her childhood and teen years were filled with reading lots and lots of books and imagining what life would be like as a vampire. 
Until one day she decided that she wanted to try her hand at writing her own books and that was the beginning of her writing adventure.


















When did you start writing?


Well, I actually started writing when I was 10. It was a creative writing assignment for school and it was about a girl and her horse (I was in my crazy-horse-phase back then). It wasn't until I was 12 that actually started writing The Elements Series. 



What makes you want to write?
 
The freedom to create whatever I want, however I want. And the feeling of being able to immerse myself in the world I create and its characters. 



Do you ever get writer's block and what do you do to get over it?
 
Yes, I do. It often frustrates me when it happens, but I usually solve it by reading and reviewing other books. Other times I watch movies or listen to music.



Do you have a special way of going about writing?
 
Not that I know of, to be honest. When I get an idea in my head for a story, I just immediately write it down and start writing bits and pieces that'll someday become part of the story. 


 
What are your hobbies? 
 
Writing actually, but also reading and reviewing books. I occassionally go horse-back riding and swimming too. 

  

How did you choose the character names for The Lost Kingdom?
 
Now that's a difficult question. Well my main character's name is actually a bit of a story on its own. I wanted something unique but couldn't find anything among the names I found on internet and baby books, then I just thought "well why not make one up?" and I did just that. I chose some randoms vowels and consonants and played around with them until I came to the name "Arima" and I thought "Yay a unique name" but then a year later somehow the name found its way into a baby name list which meant the name wasn't as unique as I first thought, me and my friend had a laugh at that. But the other names were pretty much names I thought would fit the characters themselves, I found some in baby books names or on the internet or I made them  up (or tried to anyway) like I did with Arima's name. 

 
 
Do you have any works in progress?
 
Quite a few actually. The first are The Romance Novellas, which is a short series and prelude to The Romance Novels, I'm not going into detail about this one, though. Then there is another major series I work on, on occassion which is The Dark Enchanted Series, a dark fairy tale re-telling of sorts which depicts what happened after the so called "Happily Ever After" of several well known Princesses, we all know and love.

 

Who is your favourite character in The Lost Kingdom?
 
Sabre, hands down. I just love writing him and I just love him as a character.
 


Where did you get the idea for The Lost Kingdom?
 
I've been asked that question, a hundred times before and I still can't give anyone a definite answer. It just came to me one day. I've always loved the Wiccan view of the Five Elements and when I was 12 there weren't any Elemental stories around that I could read and then the idea just came to me. The
story of five girls who embody the Elements themselves and go through great and dangerous adventures trying to save their world.


 
What was your favourite part of writing The Lost Kingdom?
 
My favourite part? Hmm, I guess it would be the part with Lucien the Angel of Lightning and Arima, Myrddin and Blythe when they meet in the Temple of the Mother Goddess.
 


What are you currently reading? 
 
Currently? World After by Susan Ee and I'm enjoying it very much. If I'm lucky I might even finish it today.
 


What is your favorite book? 
 
My all time favourite is and will always be the omnibus edition of the Black Jewel Trilogy by Anne Bishop
 


Who is your favorite author? 
 
Still is Anne Bishop after all these years, but Julie Kagawa is a close 2nd.
 


What is your favourite film?
 
Black Beauty, it's a classic and I loved it as a child and I still love it as an adult.
 


What is your favourite TV show?
 
The Simpsons, hands down.
 



Quick-fire questions:

Chocolate or ice cream? Chocolate

Paperback or ebook? Paperback

Dogs or cats? Dogs

Go out or stay in? Stay in

Summer or winter? Winter







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