Today I’m having a glas of wine with Ally Shields and we’re talking about her latest release, Cross Keys: Revelation, an Elvenrude novel, Book 2, a dark elf urban fantasy.
She prefers a Pino Noir and I’ve picked a bottle from La Vierge, a wine farm in the Hemel and Aarde Valley (Heaven and Earth) in South Africa. This vintage expresses the typical earthy and savoury aroma of this fine Burgundy variety and is backed by a red fruit character.
Before we talk about her book, let’s find out more about Ally 🙂
Questions:
A. Quickies
- Tea or wine? wine (pinot noir)
- Read or jog? read
- Cats or dogs? I love them both.
- Heels or flats? sneakers and sandals
- Boxers or briefs? boxers
- Milk, dark or white chocolate: Yes!
- Sweet or savoury: Yum, savoury.
- Sea or mountains: mountains
B. Five likes and five dislikes
love spring, summer, fall; hate winter
love broccoli; hate brussel sprouts
love pierced earrings; don’t like other body piercings
love horses; not so crazy about pigs (they’re too smelly)
love to visit the zoo; avoid the reptile building, especially the snakes
C. Three things on your bucket list
Return to Egypt one more time (not likely under the current unrest).
Find a winter home some place warm.
See the cherry blossoms in DC in the spring
D. What triggered this specific story?
Cross Keys: Revelation is a continuation of the trilogy begun with Cross Keys (An Elvenrude Novel). For a long time I wasn’t sure the original book would have a sequel, but over time I realized Kam and Seth’s story wasn’t finished, nor was her sister’s. Revelation and the final book, Unity (I just submitted it to the publisher), tie up those loose ends and resolve the major conflicts. That’s the fun with fiction…you get to make it come out right in the end. 🙂
Blurb (Cross Keys: Revelation):
If everyone keeps secrets, no one will survive…
Six months after the nightmare in Cross Keys, Kam Ryndel is enjoying her freedom in New Orleans and doesn’t miss the constraints of Elven society. She’s immersed herself in working missions for the CIA, even if it means less time to spend with her boyfriend, Seth. Seth’s not so happy about that. Having shouldered the responsibility of his family’s obligations, he’s losing patience with Kam’s lack of commitment to her own—and to him.
Then a guild worker is attacked by an invisible assailant, and everyone suspects another portal breach by rogues from Elvenrude. As Kam and Seth look for answers, a gang-related CIA mission interrupts the investigation, and Kam is taken to a place she never knew existed—beyond the Louisiana bayou.
Angered by Kam’s new mission, Seth enlists the help of his cousin Rhyden to solve the mysterious guild-worker attack. Instead of an assailant, they discover reports of ghost sightings all over town. Not that unusual for New Orleans, but these seem…different. In a mission complicated by gangsters, feuds, failing magic, and old enemies—and the uncertain loyalty of the Elven king—Seth learns something even worse. Kam is missing. And he isn’t sure if she’s alive or dead…
Book Trailers:
Cross Keys: http://youtu.be/cGyK6n-f8F4
Cross Keys: Revelation: http://youtu.be/F00BOGU125g
Social media links:
Website: http://allyshields.com
Blog: http://allyshields.com/blog.html
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ShieldsAlly
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6527209.Ally_Shields
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Ally-Shields/e/B009AKNDZU
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/100652807699295011703/posts
Newsletter: http://paper.li/ShieldsAlly/1353941420
Buy links:
Thanks for having a glass of wine with me, Ally – your bucket list is inspiring 🙂
Thanks so much, Elsa! The wine was perfecto. 🙂
So nice to chat to you, Ally!