Catching Up with C.L. Wilson

 

The Reading Cafe is thrilled to have C.L. Wilson as our guest today.  Having loved her Tairen Soul series, many of our members have been waiting for her next novel.  Today Cheryl is here to discuss her upcoming new release The Winter King, as well as answering some of our questions regarding our heroes from the Fading Lands.

Let’s catch up with C.L. Wilson (also known as Cheryl to us die hard fans).

Hi, Cheryl.  Thank you for taking the time to visit us at The Reading Café to discuss what you are currently working on and what we have to look forward to.

TRC:  What was your reaction to the phenomenal success of your Fading Lands series?  Did you expect such a response?

C.L.:  No, I really didn’t.  The overwhelmingly positive response came as such a surprise and such a boost.  And a little scary too, because with each successive book I was worried about disappointing people who’d been waiting (and already coming up with their own ideas of what should happen).

But, I have to say, I am so lucky to have so many wonderful people supporting me and my books.  I’m truly grateful—especially for everyone who has been patiently waiting for my next book.  After the end of CROWN, I went through a couple of pretty tough years, and I needed the down time to spend with my family and refill the well.

I am back to writing on a very regular basis now, and am actually doing more writing faster than I ever have before – without spending all day every day chained to the computer, so I’m super happy about that.  My focus the last few years has been to find a balance I can live with, and I think I’ve come up with something that will work for the long run.

TRC:  Your diehard fans have been waiting to find out when we can expect your next book, The Winter King.  We are thrilled to note that you do have a date…. August, 2014.  Will you please give us a brief description about the premise of Tthe Winter King?

C.L. I love this book.  It was so much fun to write.  I actually started writing it after finishing TAIREN SOUL (my manuscript which became LORD OF THE FADING LANDS and LADY OF LIGHT AND SHADOWS).  I wasn’t having much luck getting editors to take a chance on my manuscript, so I decided to start something a bit smaller in scope and a little more focused on the romance than the fantasy.  I set it aside once TAIREN SOUL sold, and didn’t get back to it until after I finished CROWN.

Anyways, to answer your question, THE WINTER KING is set in a world of weathermages and is about a fierce king from the North and the wild, rebellious Southern princess he takes as his bride.

Wynter Atrialan, the Winter King, once lived in peace with his southern, Summerlander neighbors, but when the prince of Summerlea steals Wynter’s bride and murders his young brother, Wynter calls upon a dangerous Wintercraig magic called the Ice Heart and marches against Summerlea.

After three bitter years of battle, a victorious Wynter arrives at Summerlea’s royal palace to issue his terms of surrender. The prince of Summerlea stole Wynter’s bride and slew Wynter’s Heir. He wants the loss replaced. The Ice Heart is consuming him. Wynter hopes holding his own child in his arms will rekindle the warmth in his heart before he becomes the monster of Wintercraig legend, the Ice King.

The Summer King has three very precious daughters whom he loves dearly. Wynter will take one of them to wife. She will have one year to provide him with an Heir. If she fails, he will send her to face the mercy of the mountains and claim another princess for his wife. And so it will continue until Wynter has his Heir or the Summer King is out of daughters.

The plan is perfect—except for one small detail. The Summer King has a fourth daughter. One of which he is not so fond. And she is a fiercely passionate creature, with a temper as volatile as the forces of her weathergift, the power of storms.

The book has a very Norse/Ragnarok feel to it, and I love the sparks that fly between Khamsin (the heroine) and Wynter (the hero).  He is truly scrumptious (I can’t write a book if I don’t fall madly in love with the hero), and Khamsin was a lot of fun.  I love how well they mesh together.

Link to preorder The Winter King: Amazon / Barnes & Noble

TRC:  Is The Winter King a standalone book, or will this be a new series?

C.L.: It’s a standalone book, but I’m hoping to write other books set in the same world, featuring different characters.

TRC:  At some point, you discussed going back to the Fading Lands and doing stories on two of your heroes…Belliard and Gaelen.  Is this your plan?  Will we go back to the Fading Lands?

C.L.:  Oh, yes.  Bel’s book was my NaNoWriMo project this year.  I had to set him aside to finish up my novella the for the magical holiday anthology, ONE ENCHANTED SEASON, that I self-published with my friends and fellow authors, Erica Ridley & Elissa Wilds.  But I’m back to working on Bel’s book already.  It’s so great to be back in the Fading Lands, and I’m having the best time seeing things have changed since the end of the second Mage War.

And—whew!  There are definitely some interesting times in Dharsa these days!  Poor Bel.  He isn’t going to know what hit him! LOL.

TRC:  Would you like to share with us on what you are currently working and what else you have planned for the future?

C.L.:  Well, Bel’s book will probably take a good bit of next year to write (I actually can write initial drafts relatively fast now—for me—but revising still slows me way down).  While I’m working on Bel’s book, I’m also going to be working on a second Weathermages of Mystral book.  While writing THE WINTER KING, two characters jumped up and demanded that I tell their story.  I’m not actually sure which book will come out first, but rest assured, Bel’s book is in the works! 🙂

After that, well, Gaelen vel Serranis has been incredibly (and surprisingly) patient, but I have a feeling he won’t be patient for much longer!  I am really, really looking forward to his book!

And of course, I’ll be checking in on Lillis and Lorelle, Kieran and Kiel, and Nicolene, Melliandra and the babies in both Bel & Gaelen’s books. 🙂

TRC: This is very exciting news for all of us who have fallen in love with your wonderful characters of the Fading Lands.

TRC:  You have open a new site for all of your Fading Lands fans known as Tairen’s Lair which is an online resource for Tairen Soul merchandise. How did you come up with the ideas for the merchandise?

C.L.:  After the first two Tairen Soul books came out, wildlife artist Heather Carr picked them up.  She saw the tairen on the back cover of LORD OF THE FADING LANDS and was intrigued because, when she was in high school, she used to enjoy drawing & painting bat-winged jaguars (ie, tairen before I called them tairen J).  She contacted me, showed me her fabulous art, and started painting other scenes from my books.  Tairen’s Lair (www.tairenslair.com) grew from that.   She and I work together to decide what merchandise to offer, etc.  We also host a booth at DragonCon in Atlanta, GA every year over the Labor Day weekend, and since Heather’s in Denver, we’re starting to attend the Denver conventions as well.

Our newest (and bestselling) items are tairen plushies – stuffed tairen toys.  We did a limited edition of Hallah (sold out), and now have Ellysetta-Azreisa and Rainier-Eras tairen.  We’re hoping to do a Steli sometime soon, too.

I’d like to get some new T-shirts made with the Tairen’s Lair logo, which I love.  And the Steli “I take mine roasted” coffee mugs are currently on sale.

You can find some of these fabulous official C.L. Wilson merchandise, featuring art, gifts, t-shirts and more based on scenes and characters from the Fading Lands novels.

Here is the link to check out these items:  http://tairenslair.com/

TRC:  Would you like to add anything else?

C.L.:  Just that I am so appreciative of all my fans and readers.  I really hope you will enjoy THE WINTER KING, and I hope to have good news on my next book soon!  In the meantime, I hope my readers will pick up my self-published anthology of magical holiday romances, ONE ENCHANTED SEASON, which features my novella Upon a Midnight.  Upon a Midnight is about the absolutely yummiest Guardian Angel ever to flutter a wing, and the mortal Lightkeeper he was created to love and protect.  I really enjoyed writing it, and I hope my readers will enjoy it too!  It’s available in digital format and trade paperback.  And it features a bonus sneak peek at THE WINTER KING!

Thanks so much, Barb, and everyone at the Reading Café, for inviting me to do this interview.  Ya’ll are the best!

Cheers, and Miora Felah (joyful life!)

TRC:  Thank you, Cheryl for giving us an update on “The Winter King”, as well as what we can look forward to in the future.   It was a pleasure having you visit us.  We look forward to your return to The Reading Cafe in August to help promote The Winter King.

C.L.:  I look forward to seeing you again then 🙂

If you want to learn more about C.L. Wilson, you can find her at the following links:
Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads / Blog / Tairen’s Lair