Words with Tracy Falbe, author of "Rys Rising"

Can you tell us a little about your Rys Rising series?

It’s a 4-part epic made of the books Rys Rising, Savage Storm, New Religion, and Love Lost. The rys are the magical race I created for my world instead of just using off-the-shelf elves. The Rys Rising series tells the origins of the rys that were created by the older race known as the tabre.

The tabre are not happy with the outcome of their experiments, so they hide the rys away in a mountain colony called Jingten. The rys don’t have any contact with other regions, not even Nufal where the tabre rule as religious masters of humans. Nor do the rys visit the Tribal Kingdoms where only humans live, but that’s about to end.

Onja is a very powerful young female rys. Upon reaching maturity she slips away to the Tribal Kingdoms and saves the life of a young man, who will become her greatest warlord Amar.

Throughout the series she and Amar will conquer the Tribal Kingdoms, install her as the Goddess, and raise an army to take against the tabre.

But human armies are not enough to challenge the magic masters of the tabre. Onja needs to seduce Dacian, another rys prodigy but unfortunately a bit of boot-licker to the tabre ruling order. He has the highest ideals. He wants to prove the greatness of the rys so that they will be accepted as cousins within tabre society.

He wants to free his kind peacefully and contribute to civilization. You can imagine how well that goes…all the way to the torture chamber.

Because it’s a big fat series about 18,000 other things happen too.

Rys Rising isn’t a series for readers who like to only follow one or two characters. I deck out vast ensembles led by major characters. As two civilizations clash, I weave together their stories into an unforgettable ending of mythological scope.

You can read about the Rys Rising series and download the first book for free at Brave Luck Books.

Whew! Next question.

What’s your background with writing?

Little girl went to grade school and was taught to read and write English.

Loved it.

Teenage girl reads Tolkien and writes two novels. She decides they are most likely juvenile drivel, puts them in a drawer, and decides to have a social life.

Twenty-five-year-old woman starts writing what will become Union of Renegades: The Rys Chronicles Book I. She’s been writing novels ever since.

Oh yeah, and I went to college and got a journalism degree from California State University, Chico so I can at least make the case that I can write for public consumption. 

Who are your inspirations and influences?

Obviously like many before me, J.R.R. Tolkien caused me to fall in love with the fantasy genre. I also really loved my brother’s Conan books by Robert E. Howard. As for writing style, I’ve been most inspired by Frank Herbert and his Dune books. As a teen, I fell in love with the scope of his world. The details about religion, politics, and culture dazzled me, and I thrived on the multiple points of view.

Do you have any stories from book signings/radio interviews etc.?

I’ve been attending comic and anime conventions to promote and sell my books. I sold a copy of Werelord Thal to a man at one convention, and he returned to my table at another convention a few months later. He bought The Rys Chronicles from me and then mentioned that his daughter had also read Werelord Thal. In fact, she had even used it for her book report in English class and got an A.

I’m still trying to come to terms with the fact that I was someone’s homework.

What is the name of your blog and and what can readers expect to find there?

Since 2008 I’ve maintained the blog Her Ladyship’s Quest.

In addition to announcements about my novels and ebook sales, I highlight other authors, host blog tours, write movie reviews and book reviews. There’s a big archive of posts since 2008.

I recommend people browse these tags:

Book Reviews

60s Movies

Documentaries

What projects do you have planned for the future?

Right now I’m editing Journey of the Hunted: Werewolves in the Renaissance 2 and planning on a fall 2014 release.

The hero of this tale is Thal Lesky, a notorious werewolf in 16th century Bohemia. The story opens with Thal emerging from hiding to begin the journey to Hungary where his father the sorcerer Sarputeen lives. Thal hopes to find sanctuary here because he has a fresh bounty on his head for his recent killing spree in Prague. Both the Roman Church and Ferdinand Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire want him for the crimes of shape shifting, service to the Devil, the killing of Jesuits, and the slaughter of the jailers of Prague and the Magistrate.

Thal had good reasons for what happened.

Renaissance-era Bohemia, Moravia, and Hungary offer a nearly perfect playground for the writing of historical fantasy. I draw upon the folklore and hysterical propaganda of the time. These rich herbs brew a potent potion of witches, werewolves, sorcerers, knights, lords, ladies, musicians, and the fext.

What’s a fext? It’s legend from the 16th and 17th century Bohemia about a magical undead. A fext can be made in a variety of ways, often involving his original placenta. Sometimes a fext rises from the dead. Sometimes they are created and then become impervious to death. The inspiration comes from the horrors of the Thirty Year’s War when some officers were declared undead because they kept surviving mortal wounds.

And because I’m a fantasy novelist, the fext is pretty much what I say it is in the book. His name is Janfelter, and he is created by the sorcerer Tekax, the great rival of Sarputeen.

To get to know more about Thal’s back story and the events prior to Journey of the Hunted, I recommend reading Werelord Thal: A Renaissance Werewolf Tale. 

Is there anything else about you we should know?

I’m an Aquarius. I talk to trees. I adore dogs and cats, especially together. I grow food in my yard. I like long walks on the beach. My favorite color is purple. I often go boating. I like horses…and unicorns. I like baking. I know Han Solo shot first. I was cosplaying Doctor Who way before it was cool. I drink coffee with sugar and milk or cream, but I’ll take it black if needs must.

And that’s not even scratching the surface. I like to think that what I imagine for my novels is much more interesting than me. 

Thank you for the opportunity to talk about my novels. 

Sincerely, Tracy Falbe