PHE - Interview With Beth Bernobich + Giveaway

For today's PHE post, I had the pleasure of interviewing Beth Bernobich once again. I've been a huge fan of hers, ever since she released PASSION PLAY, the first book in her fantasy series (if you're a fan of high fantasy + romance, I highly recommend it). Her most recent book, THE TIME ROADS, was release last week but since I only received my review copy late last week, I haven't had the chance to read it all. I'm about half way through though, and so far it's great. I can't wait to share my thoughts in a review.

For now, here's the interview and giveaway.

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Hello Beth and welcome back to the blog.  I'm glad you were able to take time out of your schedule to talk about your new novel, "The Time Roads". To someone who doesn't know what to expect, how would you best describe your new novel?

The Time Roads is very different from my previous books. For one thing, it's not a novel, but four novellas that link and overlap with each other.  And instead of a secondary world fantasy, this one takes place in what looks like our own early 20th century, but where Ireland is an empire, England is a Dependency, and the map of Europe is very different from the one we know. It's also a world where prime numbers have special properties that make it possible for scientists to manipulate time.

Your previous series, River of Souls, would probably fall under the epic fantasy genre. How would you categorize "The Time Roads"?

Alternate history. I don't go into the points of departure in the book, since that's not its focus, but in the history of The Time Roads, Ireland allied itself with Denmark and Scotland to defeat the English in 1169.

Were there any special challenges in writing this book? 

Oh dear, yes. Naturally I needed to do a lot of research about the history of the time period before I could change that history. And I had to decide how religions and technology had changed, and in what ways they remained similar to the real world. But what made this book especially difficult were the time fractures and the parallel time streams. I had to make a giant chart of what happened when, in which country, and in which time stream. And I had to know what each character remembered of the different time streams.

Was it difficult letting go of the River of Soul characters/world?

I'm not sure I've actually let go yet. :)

But to be honest, no. I wrote the first of the novellas for this book over twelve years ago, and I worked on the other stories in parallel to my River of Souls books, so it felt more like talking to two good friends, rather than letting one go.

The title of the book references time. Should we expect time travelling in this story?

There is time travel, yes, but more. Time in this world has fracture points--weak spots that scientists are mapping in order to jump into the future and the past. But altering events in the past can cause time to splinter and divide, and undoing those events can heal the fractures in unexpected ways.

Do you plan to write more books for your River of Souls series?

I do. I have one novel already written called The Edge of the Empire that takes place 500 years before Passion Play, where Ilse and Raul meet in a previous lifetime. In this one, Ilse is Anna Zhdanov, a scholar and bonded servant, sent by her master to recover an important Imperial artifact. Raul is Andreas Koszenmarc, the son of a nobleman turned pirate, who is searching for that same artifact for reasons of his own.

I would also love to write two more books about what happens in Károví and Morennioù after the events in Allegiance.

What are you reading right now? 

I am re-reading one of my favorite, favorite series: The Queen's Thief quartet by Megan Whalen Turner. These books are as perfect as you can get.

What's your favourite part of fall/autumn?

I love the hint of chill in the morning air, and how the sky looks different--sharper and clearer, and the blue much more vivid than in summer. We live on a miniature lake, opposite a state park, and when fall arrives, the waters of the lake reflect the changing colors of the leaves. I could sit on our back patio for hours, just to drink in the view.

Thank you again for participating in our event. I look forward to reading The Time roads.

Thank you for inviting me!

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Here's the scoop on THE TIME ROADS:

A fantastical nineteenth century alternate historical steampunk romp from Beth Bernobich, the critically acclaimed author of the River of Souls trilogy.

Éire is one of the most powerful empires in the world. The Anglian Dependencies are a dusty backwater filled with resentful colonial subjects, Europe is a disjointed mess, and many look to Éire for stability and peace. In a series of braided stories, Beth Bernobich has created a tale about the brilliant Éireann scientists who have already bent the laws of nature for Man''s benefit. And who now are striving to conquer the nature of time.

The Golden Octopus: Áine Lasairíona Devereaux, the young Queen of Éire, balances Court politics while pursing the Crown''s goals of furthering scientific discovery. When those discoveries lead to the death and madness of those she loves, Áine must choose between her heart and her duty to her kingdom.

A Flight of Numbers Fantastique Strange: Síomón Madóc is desperately trying to discover who is killing the brightest of Éire''s mathematicians. The key to saving lives lies in the future...and Síomón must figure out a way to get there.

Ars Memoriae: Éireann spymaster Aidrean Ó Deághaidh goes to the kingdom of Montenegro to investigate rumors of great unrest. But Ó Deághaidh is tormented by visions of a different timeline and suspects that someone in his own government is playing a double game….

The Time Roads: Éire stands on the brink of the modern age, but old troubles still plague the kingdom. An encounter with a mysterious stranger near death holds the clue to both the past and the future of the nation.

Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads

Other books by Beth Bernobich:

    

About the author

Beth Bernobich is a writer, reader, mother, and geek. Her short stories have appeared in all kinds of places, including Asimov’s, Interzone, Strange Horizons, and Tor.com. Her first fantasy novel, Passion Play, won the 2010 RT Reviewer’s Choice Award for Best Epic Fantasy. The second book in that series, Queen’s Hunt, earned a spot on the Locus Recommended Reading List for 2012. She lives in Connecticut, USA with her family, and two idiosyncratic cats.

Connect with Beth:

Website | Twitter

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Beth's publicist is giving away one (1) copy of THE TIME ROADS.

Open to Canada and USA only. Giveaway ends November 7th, 2014.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Posted by Tynga at 02:55

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Tynga is a 32 years old mom of two, from Montreal, working as a lab technician in an hospital specialized in heart disease. In her free time, she enjoys reading all things Paranormal and photography.

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