In celebration of release of Dragonwitch, Prism Book Tours is hosting an Interview Tour with the author, Anne Elisabeth Stengl! I'm honored to join in with the flood of questions and add my own thoughts on the book as well!
Interview With Anne Elisabeth Stengl
1. What Bible verse
do you consider to be the theme for your stories?
I think if I had to pick just one, it would be:
2 Corinthians
12:8-9 Three times I
pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me,
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power
of Christ may rest upon me.
A constant theme in all of my stories is the imperfection
and weakness of the heroes and heroines. They do not overcome by personal
virtue or strength. They overcome only through grace and love. This makes for
quite the cast of imperfect protagonists! But I hope this repeated theme will
inspire readers with hope.
2. What was the first
inspiration for Dragonwitch?
Dragonwitch
started out as an image in my mind . . . an image of a fiery woman standing
atop a mountain as raging water rose up all around her. I tried to draw it at
first, but couldn’t manage it. So I started writing down notes about her
instead. Who was she? Why was she on fire? What were these waters threatening
to overwhelm her?
Thus the Dragonwitch
was born! But it would be many years before I discovered the whole of her
story.
3. What are the ages
of your cats?
Hmmm, let me see . . . Minerva is going on five this
December. Marmaduke will be four in November. Monster and Magrat (who are
littermates) are both just two. And Makoose, our newest boy, is a little over a
year. So they’re all pretty young kitties at this point! (Milly, my dog, wants
me to mention that she’s five. She hates to be left out.)
4. Do Rohan and you
still fence?
Sadly we do not! There is simply no time these days. But
maybe we’ll get back into it one day . . .
For those of you who didn’t know, my husband and I met at
fencing class. We fought in a tournament, fell in love, and were married seven
months later. Talk about dramatic!
5. If you could go
anywhere in the worlds you've created, where would it be and who would you
meet?
I would definitely go to Imraldera’s library! I could
research on more Goldstone Wood novels to my heart’s content, not to mention
get to discuss ideas with Dame Imraldera herself. I think she and I would get
along great! (And I’m sure Eanrin would try to interrupt us, unable to bear not being the center of attention!)
What fun! I think I would adore visiting the library too! Thank you for your time, Anne!
Now, as part of the tour I'll be sharing about one of the reasons why I love this book and series so very much. Below this illustration is an article concerning my thoughts on one of the beautiful messages of Dragonwitch. Also, be sure to enter the giveaway down below and continue on to the rest of this fantastic tour!
 |
| My Own Fan Art From Dragonwitch |
Agapē
By Hannah Williams
Quotations taken from Dragonwitch
Love. It is a word used to describe so much. I love Dragonwitch. I love grilled cheese sandwiches. I love my family. We use the same word to mean completely different things. When we do so, it is almost easy to forget the most powerful love of all.
Agapē (pronounced ä-gä'-pā, otherwise a-ga-pae) is the Greek word for great love. To have a complete definition of that love go to 1 Corinthians 13. When fully understood, agapē is overwhelming--it's God's love.
The Tales of Goldstone Wood by Anne Elisabeth Stengl illustrates this love with more beauty and potency then most books I've read. The theme of the series is undeserved grace--a direct result of true love. Her newest release, Dragonwitch, is no exception. This epic tale unfolds before our eyes an impossible love story. The love with which He Who Chose them guides the most unlikely of heroes into greatness. The love with which one hero shows to the vilest of all. The love which some will accept and others will reject.
To fully understand agapē, we must first admit we do not deserve it. Accepting God's love means giving your life over to him, calling him Master. There are those who won't, but will instead declare themselves their own masters in control of their own fate.
"I am a goddess! I am so strong!"
And yet these words are spoken from the lips of a ruined person, someone who has fallen so far they don't even recognize they have been defeated.
Understanding that it is by love we live at all gives us strength we never could have imagined.
"Let me be weak then, so you may be strong."
Now comes the second part, possibly even harder than the first. We have been given impossible love. Now it is our turn to give it to the people around us. But she doesn't deserve it! Neither do we. But they hurt me! We have hurt others. God's love is open to all who will accept. It's our choice whether we will herald it or not.
A character in Dragonwitch (I won't say who!) has truly come to understand agapē. Their strength through it is incredible and inspiring. This love, this underserved grace, offers us the chance to become complete, to be the person we were meant to be.
"I love you."
Suddenly those words hold more power than we might have ever dreamed.
~
On Tour with Prism Book Tours...
Dragonwitch
by Anne Elisabeth Stengl
Paperback, 432 pages
Published July 1, 2013 by Bethany House Publishers
Submissive to her father’s will, Lady Leta of Aiven travels far to meet a prospective husband she neither knows nor loves–Lord Alistair, future king of the North Country.
But within the walls of Gaheris Castle, all is not right. Vicious night terrors plague Lord Alistair to the brink of insanity. Whispers rise from the family crypt. The reclusive castle Chronicler, Leta’s tutor and friend, possesses a secret so dangerous it could cost his life and topple the North Country into civil war.
And far away in a hidden kingdom, a fire burns atop the Temple of the Sacred Flame. Acolytes and priestesses serve their goddess to the limits of their lives and deaths. No one is safe while the Dragonwitch searches for the sword that slew her twice…and for the one person who can wield it.
Anne Elisabeth Stengl makes her home in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she lives with her husband, Rohan, a passel of cats, and one long-suffering dog. When she's not writing, she enjoys Shakespeare, opera, and tea, and studies piano, painting, and pastry baking. She studied illustration at Grace College and English literature at Campbell University. She is the author of HEARTLESS, VEILED ROSE, MOONBLOOD, and STARFLOWER, with DRAGONWITCH due to release in 2013. HEARTLESS and VEILED ROSE have each been honored with a Christy Award.
Facebook * Twitter * Website/Blog * Goodreads
Tour-wide Giveaway -
USA, Canada & UK - Print Copy of the entire series to date!
See Rafflecopter for giveaway details.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Pull up a chair and a cup of tea... we've invited Anne Elisabeth to every blog on the tour!
July
1 – Book Release!
2 – CTFDevourer
3 – TheOther World
4 – Mel’sShelves
5 – JL Mbewe
9 – BookwormLisa
10 – Jojo’sCorner
11 – LDS& Lovin’ It
14 – Mommasez…
15 – Dee’sReads
16 – ThatGirl Reads
17 – Livinga Goddess Life
18 – Cu’sEbook Giveaways
19 – Grand Finale Blast!
19 comments:
Fact: every time I hear something about Dragonwitch, I get more excited. This book sounds absolutely incredible, and I have no doubt that it'll be the best yet in the series!
And I forget to read the rafflecopter yet again! All right. Question for Mrs. Stengl: which character from the series is the hardest for you to write, in terms of keeping their personality accurate to what it should be and stuff?
I'm not entering, I already have most of those books. Just wanted to say, Hannah, I love what you wrote. It is so true and just makes me all the more excited to read Dragonwitch!
Lovely post, Hannah! I loved your article; it was so eloquent and full of truth. I also adored your picture; it made my heart ache for the characters portrayed.
BEAUTIFUL!!!! I love your fan art!! You really capture "impossible love". Amazing!
I know you will love it, Sarah!!!
Thank you! That message just really pressed in on me during and after reading the story. It's a great message that we don't see in novels enough. I now fully intend to portray it in one of my future works-in-progress.
Thank you, Beka!
And yes...you do know who those characters are, don't you? That is a mystery for everyone else to discover...heh, heh.
He hee. *grin*
Oh, thank you so much! And thank you for following my blog! And to be thorough, thank you for hosting this awesome tour!!!
That was so beautiful! And eloquent!
Wow amazing review! I loved the interview too! I would have never thought about asking the ages of her cats! :)
Thank you, Jennette and Laura!
Beautiful... you have explained agape so well... thank you, Hannah. God Bless.
(also, I have to fight the urge of jealousy because you have read "Dragonwitch" already, but maybe I'll overcome....)
Oooo, fight the jealousy! ;)
I hope you get to read 'Dragonwitch' soon!!!
Anne Elisabeth, I love your interview! Thank you for sharing with us. I absolutely loved 'Dragonwitch'! (Hannah read it to me.) I continue to be amazed at seeing how our Lord has put so much wisdom, talent, and grace in one so young. He is sending an awesome message through your stories! I hope and pray many more are blessed and encouraged through your writing.
Hey everyone! If somebody writes a comment today, I just want to let them know that it won't be published till this evening, possibly tomorrow morning. Thanks!
Wonderful feature, Hannah! I love it, especially the beautiful art work!
@Sarah: Oddly enough, I think the character I struggled the most with recently was Lady Leta from DRAGONWITCH. She changed DRASTICALLY from my original ideas about her to the character she ended up being in the novel. She had been referenced (albeit in passing) in at least one earlier book, so I had been considering her personality and character for quite a number of years. In fact, I think I wrote my first short stories about her when I was around 15. But THAT version of her character simply wouldn't work. I found her very dull and difficult to relate to. It was hard to give up character ideas which had been brewing for so many years, but when I finally stopped clinging to what I THOUGHT the character should be and allowed her to become herself, the whole novel began to take better shape.
I love all of the interview questions and the art is amazing! I don't have any questions :) Loved being part of this tour!!
Post a Comment