Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Blog Tour + #Giveaway: The Extremely Epic Viking Tale of Yondersaay by Aoife Lennon-Ritchie @aoifelennon @chapterxchapter @TantrumBooks



The Extremely Epic Viking Tale of Yondersaay
by Aoife Lennon-Ritchie
Publication Date: October 11, 2016
Publisher:  Tantrum Books


This winter, siblings Ruairi and Dani Miller visit their ancestral homeland: the legendary Viking island of Yondersaay. Even with Granny Miller's storytelling to pass the time, the pair manage to find trouble. In less than twenty-four hours of their arrival, Ruairi is mistaken for the lost Boy King of Denmark, kidnapped by Vikings, and scheduled to be sacrificed at sundown. Granny isn’t very pleased.

But when everyone except them goes Viking, the three turn to Granny’s epic tales of the legends of Yondersaay, The Gifts of Odin, and King Dudo the Mightily Impressive for clues. But not all stories end happily, and Ruari, Dani, and Granny will have to write their own happy ending.

The Princess Bride meets Vikings in this enchanted tale of high adventure, buried treasure, villainous treachery, violent ends, and – of course – true love. Aoife Lennon-Ritchie's debut middle grade novel, THE EXTREMELY EPIC VIKING TALE OF YONDERSAAY, is a humorous and heartwarming story for readers ages 9+.




Purchase Links:



An Interview with Aoife Lennon-Ritchie

 
What inspired you to write The Extremely Epic Viking Tale of Yondersaay?

Hi Nancy, thanks so much for these wonderful questions!

I was inspired to write this book by a visit to Shetland, a Scottish island way off the coast in the North Atlantic. I was there in January and had just missed the annual Up Helly Aa festival where everyone dresses as Vikings for the day and burns a longship on the shore. In my book The Extremely Epic Viking Tale of Yondersaay everyone turns into Vikings on one day of the year, everyone except Dani and Ruairi Miller and their Granny, and they have to figure what the heck is going on, before Ruairi gets sacrificed in a burning longship on the shore!

When or at what age did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I’m not sure. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t know I wanted to be a writer, so I suppose I must have been very young, maybe 7 or 8. Of course I also wanted to be an explorer, an inventor, and a horse trainer back then.

What is the earliest age you remember reading your first book?

I was three, nearly four. I remember sitting on a chair in a room with a reader on my lap, and with my mother and another adult who must have been a head-mistress sitting across a desk from each other. My mother was saying ‘See!’ and asking me to read aloud. I think the headmistress thought I was too young to start school, even though I would have just turned 4 before school started, and was advising my mother to keep me at home for another year. Note: she didn’t.

What genre of books do you enjoy reading?

I’m really into speculative fiction at the moment, I just read The Raft by Fred Strydom which is fantastic, Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, and The Three by the wonderful Sarah Lotz. But I read anything and everything. I don’t read a lot of New Adult or romantic fiction, but that’s probably because it doesn’t occur to me to go to that section of the book shop when I’m in there. I will get there some day soon.

What is your favorite book?

Trick question! No such thing.

You know I think we all have a favorite author. Who is your favorite author and why?

Another trick question. There are soooo many. I do love Kazuo Ishiguro, so I’d probably name him if you threatened to take a kidney or something if I didn’t name one.

If you could travel back in time here on earth to any place or time. Where would you go and why?

I’d go back to a time before cats were domesticated. I’d bring some penicillin with me, and a stack of tooth-brushes, and a truck load of anti-histamines just in case. Honestly, those Ancient Egyptians have a lot to answer for. Ok, so yeah, paper is great, and we wouldn’t live in houses the way we do without them, but really, hair-shedding, fur-ball hacking, dead-rat-bringing-in CATS! In your house! How is that a good idea??

When writing a book do you find that writing comes easy for you or is it a difficult task?

It’s difficult. Starting is the hardest part. It’s very rewarding, afterwards, of course.

Do you have any little fuzzy friends? Like a dog or a cat? Or any pets?

Kindly refer to question number seven. Or, in other words, a big fat NO. Alas, I am allergic to everything.

What is your "to die for", favorite food/foods to eat?

Cat Souffle. Only joking. I have a sweet tooth and I love chocolate, is the quick answer. The longer answer is that I love all kinds of food. I have people over to dinner all the time, so I’m constantly looking for interesting new recipes (send me some if you have them!). Recently I made the Skinny French Chick’s leek and reblochon gratin which is deliciousness itself. You can find the recipe here: http://bit.ly/2dOe0wX  There’s only a small amount of cat in that recipe, like half a paw, so it’s safe for cat-lovers. (Joking again.)

Do you have any advice for anyone that would like to be an author?

Read, read, and then read some more. Read everything you can get your hands on, not just in the genre you already know you like. I’m certain you’ll have heard that before.
For starters, I’d recommend The Extremely Epic Viking Tale of Yondersaay.J


Irish actor and writer Aoife Lennon-Ritchie studied at the Sorbonne in Paris, the Universita di Catania in Italy, University College Dublin in Ireland, and the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Aoife holds diplomas, degrees and a Masters in the multiple fields of business and information technology, English and classic literature, theatre and creative writing; she looks forward to doing her PhD in Film and Media. Always searching for new adventures, Aoife has lived in the UK, France, Greece, Italy, and several US cities, including Chicago, New York and Pittsburgh. She speaks three (and a half) languages. Although she was once an investment banker, she much prefers acting, fencing, writing, and being a mum. She currently lives in Cape Town with her handsome husband and two small children.




Giveaway:

•        One (1) winner will receive a scrabble tile book cover charm (US ONLY)

•        Five (5) winners will receive a digital copy of The Extremely Epic Viking Tale of Yondersaay by Aoife Lennon-Ritche (INT)

Ends October 28, 2016


Chapter-by-Chapter-blog-tour-button
 

0 comments: