Lleu since you are the hero of a romance book, let me ask you what has been your best or worst date?
“Well, we ancient gods don’t really date in the way you modern mortals do. But my worst relationship with a woman was with my wife Blodeuwedd. It all began with a tinged (that’s kind of like a curse or a rule) that my mother the goddess Arianrhod put on me which prohibited me from having a wife. So, gods Math and Gwydion conjured a wife from me out of flowers and named her goddess Blodeuwedd. I thought the marriage was going well until she and her human lover tried to kill me. I survived. And god Gwydion, my uncle, turned Blodeuwedd into an owl to punish her. Now, the best relationship I’ve ever had with a woman was with Wyndolen.”
She’s the heroine of your story, The Lynx and the Druidess, right?
“Yes,”
And how did you meet?
“The first time I saw her, I scried her by peering into the pond of the wise salmon in the Otherworld. Fire coursed through me as I watched this dark-haired enchantress. swirl in a rhythmic dance, winnowing the harvest by holding her wicker basket high as husks and kernels leaped up from the bottom of it and the wispy chaff caught by the breeze floated above her.”
She sounds gorgeous and graceful. Now, I ask many people this next question, which is if you could be an animal which one would you be? But, in your case, you actually have transformed to other animals and the Lynx is the creature associated with you the most? Why do you like shapeshifting into a lynx?
“There are so many things I love about the majestic lynx. One thing I admire the most is that they are mighty hunters. I love to hunt but I can’t compare to the skills of a lynx when in my human form. Even in deep snow they can maneuver their environment well and capture their prey. And in the dense forest, they are as stealthy as shadows and use the element of surprise. Also, many Celts call them Llewyn, naming them after me.”
And, you also have a huge Celtic festival named after you? Tell us about that.
“Lughnasa which is pronounced (LOO-nuss-uh) takes place in August, to celebrate the first Harvest and to honor me, god Lleu. Food is more abundant at this festival than any other, due to the harvest, so there is a great feast. It is often a time when many couples get married. One Lughnasa tradition is to pick ripe bilberries and string them into a bracelet for your lover. The British Celts would also fashion a wheel of the year, set it aflame, and the druid, using an iron rod, would roll it down a hill, chanting something like, God of the sun, the wheel has turned, the yearly end of your reign has come. The sun begins its journey, winter nears. The season turns, sun and earth, life to death. Lughnasa, Lughnasa. But one of the biggest events of the festival was the huge summer bonfire that brought it to a close each year.”
“It sounds exciting and on that note, I’ll bring our interview to a close. And Lleu thank you so much for visiting with us today.
The
Lynx and the Druidess
The
Druidry and the Beast Series
Book
Five
Cornelia
Amiri
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Date of Publication: July 1, 2020
ASIN: B08BNNFWBF
Number of pages: 94
Word Count: 22,600
Cover Artist: Kyra Starr
Tagline: Loving a god has its advantages
Book Description:
Lleu, the radiant sun god,
crosses between worlds to the Silures village for the fierce and stunning
druidess, Wendolyn —a woman worth battling for. He longs to celebrate Lughnasa,
the festival that honors him, with her.
Wendolyn is captivated by the
striking stranger the moment he wanders into her village. Furthermore, she
wants him with a fervor, burning her from within. However, he’s hiding his true
identity. When he vows to save her tribe from the Romans marching toward them,
everyone, including her dead father in a dream, says he is a coward who has run
off.
Lleu is determined to win the
love of druidess Wendolyn even if it means fighting the Roman army singled
handed—by shapeshifting into in his lynx body.
Will her tribe survive the
Romans? And, can Wendolyn and Lleu’s relationship survive her tribe’s mistrust
of him?
Excerpt:
With her heart hammering,
Wyndolen stared with wonder at Lleu’s luscious nude body. She only glanced away
long enough to pull a white robe, speckled with gold, out of the chest in the
corner. She tugged it on, then fastened a plaid cloak over it with a round
silver broach and latched her gaze onto Lleu again while he slipped his clothes
back on.
They left the
roundhouse and walked hand in hand to Cynfor’s home.
She called out
to the woodmaker, “It is time.”
Cynfor stepped out, clutching an iron rod and
the wheel of the year coated with gooey tar.
As the three walked together to the center of the village, men, women,
and children gathered around the druidess, muttering, “Lleu,” and “coward.”
Scanning the
angry faces in the crowd, Wyndolen sighed. If only they knew the truth about
him. But she couldn’t blame them, she was as guilty as they were. She hadn’t
recognized he was a god, even after he’d told her. No, he had to show her his
magic spear and reveal his dazzling aura. Now the others needed to learn the
truth. Tonight, at his festival, she
would announce who he really was. But first she had to prepare her tribesmen
for the news, to lessen their shock.
She held her
palm upward toward the crowd and cleared her throat. “Hear me, I have a
surprise for all of you. The presence of the god Lleu is here. You do not see
him as he is in the guise of one of us. So, take care of how you treat each
other, lest you offend the deity.”
Their
expressions shifted from anger to shame as they were now all on their best
behavior.
Taking graceful
steps, she led all her tribesmen, chief, and Lleu to a cliff. Their chief
proudly carried a blazing firebrand, and Cynfor held the sacred wheel with
reverent hands. Everyone grew quiet and gazed down the mountain slope.
Wyndolen
announced, “We have gathered this Lughnasa to observe the Wheel of the Year as
it turns.” She raised her arms to the sky and smiled at Lleu as she chanted,
“The sun burns, yet winter nears. The season turns. Summer comes to an end. Sun
and earth, life to death the wheel turns, Lughnasa, Lughnasa.”
She took the
torqueh from Corio, handed it to Lleu, and he lit the wheel of year aflame.
Cynfor handed Wyndolen the iron rod. Then, the sun god, Lleu, ran beside her,
on the other side of the flaming wheel, as she used the rod to roll it down
that part of the mountain slope.
She chanted,
“God of the sun, the wheel has turned, the yearly end of your reign has come.”
Smoke rose, as
flames ate the wood. The wheel reached its end at the foot of the slope and
crumbled into ash and burning fragments. The crowd stopped in their tracks and
circled the symbol of the dying Lleu.
About
the Author:
The Celtic Warrior Queen
influenced Cornelia Amiri to write professionally. Cornelia loves history and
in reading a book about the dark ages, she came across the rebel queen, who
inspired her so much, she started jotting down notes. But they were fiction,
visions of her involved in the Boudica revolt. Before she knew it, Cornelia had
accidentally written a rough draft for a novel. And she’s been writing books on
purpose ever since. Drawing on her love of a happy ending she’s currently
penned 39 published romance books.
Now, for the more mundane stuff.
She and her muse, Severus the Cat, live amid the hustle and bustle of humid
Houston, Texas, as does her wonderful son and granddaughter. Cornelia’s
currently working on a sci-fi comedy romance series with a Celtic goddess as
the heroine.
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