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
0 comments:
Post a Comment