The Serrulata Saga Begins

Now available

My name is Cyn and in case you didn't notice-I have a serious addiction to books. Especially the dark, spooky, horror, snarky type to name a few...

Today I'm featuring & hosting A.E. Bennett, a brand new self- published author of book one The Serrulata Saga.

Leora of Mae is a young Xanthi woman, orphaned at birth and raised on a remote farm where she is the only one of her kind. As a wielder of Xanthcraft, her abilities set her apart from her adoptive family and the other villagers. Shortly before her twentieth birthday, she learns of her family’s plot to sell her into servitude. Fearing for her life, she flees from the only home she’s ever known… Roland Shallowbrook has been traveling the Thieves’ Road since childhood, performing odd jobs and stealing when necessary to survive. With twenty-five years behind him, he has no permanent home to speak of and considers himself lucky to have survived his latest theft. Lacking any proper destination, he stumbles into a dingy tavern in a remote road-stop town, not realizing his life will be changed forever… Lady Aurora Verte, the eldest daughter of the powerful Lord Tristian Verte, is one of the most desired young women in the Realm. As a member of the gentry, she has only known comfort and luxury. On the morning of her wedding, she is preparing to become head of a new household and assume duties befitting of a lady when White Riders storm into her family home, destroying life as she knows it. With the help of her twin sister Eve, Aurora flees House Verte with little more than the wedding dress she’s wearing…Leopold, First Commander of the White Riders and the Realm’s First Defender, has been a loyal servant of the sovereign since he was a child. Raised as a soldier with single-minded devotion, a secret regarding the gentry was recently thrust upon him. Bound by a duty stronger than his upbringing, he makes the decision to betray his own men, and now he must pay a terrible price…Together, these four unlikely heroes will have to band together, not only to survive, but to battle to create a more just country for all.

BUY: Amazon  PS- it's on Kindle Unlimited

Bennett recently contacted me, and while I don't have plans to read this yet, she let me interview her. 

I wasn't a very inventive reviewer LOL, and yet I still think these questions were fun and her answers were interesting-Plus who doesn't LOVE Tori Amos(saw her in concert back in the day)& NIN! 

 Name one of your favorite books?

The favorite book question is always hard for me. When I was in middle school, it was Little Women. In high school and for a long time after it was Pride and Prejudice. (Supre cliche, I know!) I've always been fascinated by the ancient world, too, and during quarantine I had the chance to read Gilgamesh and Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey, so I think those are tied for my favorites at the moment. 

When writing your book were you inspired by any music or do you have a play list that you associate with your novel?

 

I have a writing playlist that I've cobbled together over the years, so often I'll put that on to get me started. If I have to write a particularly emotional scene, I might turn to Tori Amos. All of my fights and battle scenes are written to Nine Inch Nails. (I was in high school in the 90s - what can I say?)

When you wrote your book, did you plan it all out, or are you more of a seat of pants type of writer?  

I'm definitely a planner. I tried pantsing a version of this book and it just didn't work. So, when I went back to the drawing board, I outlined every chapter. Now I can't think of writing without an outline!

 Where did you idea for this novel come from? Meaning were you inspired by a person or event or news story/history etc?

There was a period in 1997 where the Hale-Bopp comet was all anyone talked about and I was obsessed. I found the idea of a comet coming around once every two thousand or so years fascinating, and I started to think about what the planet would be like the next time Hale-Bopp comes our way, and an idea was born!

Are you working on another novel now? A few details?  

The Serrulata Saga is just that, so there will be several books in this series. During summer of 2020, I challenged myself to write a romance, and that exercise actually turned into a prequel of Gathering of the Four. It's a novella and with my editor now. I'm hoping to have that out by this coming holiday season. I've just started working on Book Two (working title - ha!) in the series and honestly I have no idea when the first draft will be done, but I'd love to get it to readers around this same time next year. 

Again, I'd like to thank A.E. for reaching out to me and sharing a few details about herself & the Serrulta Saga. 

PS - Her cover art work, some of the website art, including the above cherry blossom, from artist James Maselas are beautiful! So take a minute and visit her below- those photographs are BEAUTIFUL too. 

A.E.'s website

Thanks for stopping by. I'd love to hear from so drop me a line.