Author Interview: Rhiannon Hart

Today on The Tales Compendium I would like to welcome Rhiannon Hart, author of the Lharmell series. As part of my Aussie Author Month, I have a bunch of Aussie YA authors answering some questions over the next few weeks.

Rhiannon has written Blood Song, Blood Storm, and a short story from Rodden's perspective called The Blue-Eyed Phantom: Blood Song 0.5 which is due for release soon. UK and US followers, paperback editions of Blood Song and Blood Storm will be available from May 10th.

"Blood Song is the story of a feisty heroine with loyal animals, an infuriating but intriguing boy, a mysterious land and frightful creatures. It has action, adventure, tension and mystery, with a little bit of romance on the side. Utterly captivating!"

(From my review)

Please welcome Rhiannon Hart!

I was the kind of kid who… took a long time to find herself.

My mother always told me… "get a career before you get married". Feminism was drummed into me from the cradle.

The biggest lesson I learnt at school was… when I left, and found that university was much much much more fun.

My first big crush was… Jareth the Goblin King.

I earnt my first pay cheque… harvesting lavender.

I really hate it when… the teacher used to say "Everyone get into groups and ..." (see introvert below)

I’m very good at… staying positive.

The hardest thing I’ve ever done… Every time I speak on stage. I was a dancer so I'm used to being on the stage. But just not opening my mouth on it.

I’m frightened of… not having enough time.

When I’m in the shower I sing… Well, lately it's been George Michael's Amazing and The Ruler of the Queen's Navy from HMS Pinafore.

My road to publication was… anxious and sleepless. Having an agent on the other side of the world means waking up at all hours to check your email.

The last book I read was… Quiet: The Power of Introverts by Susan Cain. (I'm technically an extrovert but I have strong introvert characteristics that come in handy for a writer.)

I would love to meet… up with all my friends. I haven't seen them in two months since I moved to London and I miss them!

When I get the munchies I eat… cheese and crackers. Seriously, cheese. Amaze.

I’m currently working on… an awesome book I can't talk about!! (Not book three, it's a wee while longer for that.)

I hope I never… get too scared to write. 

Life is… weird. It really is. Weird fantastic, weird scary and all the wonderful shades of weird.

Thankyou, Rhiannon, for being a part of Aussie Authors Month!

Blood Song on Goodreads

Blood Storm on Goodreads

Rhiannon's Blog

Rhiannon's Twitter

My review of Blood Song

My review of Blood Storm  

Blood Storm by Rhiannon Hart

Title: Blood Storm

Series: Lharmell #2

Author: Rhiannon Hart

Release Date: 1st August 2012

My Rating: 4/5

Previous Book: Blood Song

Blurb:

The rain wanted to be ocean; the ice in the mountain caps wanted freedom. I never knew that water held such longing. The clouds above my head rumbled like a growling wolf, impatient to release their burden. I held the rain there a moment longer. I turned to Renata, heard her gasp and knew my eyes glowed blue.

I spoke a single word. 'Rain.'

In the Second Book of Lharmell, Zeraphina and Rodden must travel across the sea to find the elusive ingredients that will help them to win the coming battle against the Lharmellin – but shadows from Rodden’s dark past may come back to haunt him. And while she learns to harness her new abilities, Zeraphina still fights the hunger that makes her crave the north – not to mention avoiding her mother, who wants to see her wayward daughter married to a prince at all costs.

In A Nutshell:

An atmospheric and addictive series that pulls you in and begs you to get lost in Zeraphina and Rodden’s world.

My Review:

It has been several months since Zeraphina destroyed the leader of the Lharmellins and she has spent her time ‘holidaying’ in Pergamia. Her real reason is to learn more about the Lharmellins from Rodden, and to avoid her mother who is on a mission to marry her off to a prince. Unfortunately, her home is where yelbar can be found, a metal deadly to Lharmellins, which Rodden and Zeraphina desperately need. So they leave Pergamia under the cover of night, heading across the continent of Brivora, for Amentia.

Hart’s descriptions were perfect. I could picture all the different locations so clearly and did not get lost in heavy detail. As they travel through deserts, across oceans, through the rich and the poor cities, they meet new people that help and hinder their quest. With harmings hunting them down and their safety depending on one another, the intimacy of trying to survive and the trust they hold in each other leads Zeraphina to question her growing feelings for Rodden. And thankfully, Rodden’s secretive nature finally breaks down midway through the book when he shares his devastating backstory. 

 

Throughout their journey Zeraphina works to harness her new abilities and upon arrival in Amentia, she battles with her mother over her engagement to an arrogant, abusive prince. The injustice of her arranged marriage and the questions of choice and royal expectations are raised in the second half of the book which I thought was a nice offshoot from Zeraphina and Rodden’s quest. 

As the second book comes to a close, both their heavily guarded feelings for one another become more obvious as another encounter on Lharmell becomes eminent. Old foes return and their lives hang in the balance, not just from the threat of harmings, but also from the assumptions made by royal families after Zeraphina and Rodden disappeared on the trip together.

Despite a somewhat devastating cliff-hanger, I thoroughly enjoyed Blood Storm and am so please it lived up to the expectations I had after loving Blood Song. As I think many of you know, I often struggle with fantasy, but for some reason Rhiannon Hart’s novels just pull me in and beg me to get lost in the world she has created.

This has been an official stop on the Blood Storm Blog Tour. Check out the other stops featuring reviews of both Blood Song and Blood Storm, as well as guest posts.

SEPTEMBER 20 Inkcrush

SEPTEMBER 21 Refracted Light

SEPTEMBER 22 Little Book Owl

SEPTEMBER 23 Intrepid Reader

SEPTEMBER 24 The Rest is Still Unwritten

SEPTEMBER 25 Tales of the Inner Book Fanatic

SEPTEMBER 26 The Tales Compendium

SEPTEMBER 27 Larissa Book Girl

SEPTEMBER 28 The Eclectic Reader

SEPTEMBER 28 Beauty & Lace

SEPTEMBER 29 Treasured Tales for Young Adults

SEPTEMBER 30 Ticket to Anywhere 

Other Links

Blood Song on Goodreads

Blood Storm on Goodreads

Rhiannon on Facebook

Rhiannon on Twitter

Rhiannon's Blog

1st Chapter of Blood Storm

 

Blood Song by Rhiannon Hart

Title: Blood Song
Series: Lharmell #1
Author: Rhiannon Hart

Release Date: 1st September 2011

My Rating: 5/5

Blurb:
When her sister becomes betrothed to a prince in a northern nation, Zeraphina’s only consolations are that her loyal animal companions are by her side – and that her burning hunger to travel north is finally being sated.

Already her black hair and pale eyes mark her out as different, but now Zeraphina must be even more careful to keep her secret safe. Craving blood is not considered normal behaviour for anyone, let alone a princess. So when the king’s advisor, Rodden, seems to know more about her condition than she does, Zeraphina is determined to find out more.

Zeraphina must be willing to sacrifice everything if she’s to uncover the truth – but what if the truth is beyond her worst nightmares?

In A Nutshell:
Blood Song is the story of a feisty heroine with loyal animals, an infuriating but intriguing boy, a mysterious land and frightful creatures. It has action, adventure, tension and mystery, with a little bit of romance on the side. Utterly captivating!

My Review:
Blood Song, by debut Australian author Rhiannon Hart, is a captivating fantasy novel about a young girl, fighting with who she is and what she is destined to become.

A princess by birth, Zeraphina is more interested in archery and her beloved animals than finding a suitor. She also as a secret; she is constantly battling an inner turmoil of an unknown hunger and searching for an explanation as to why she is so different to her mother and sister.

When she travels north for her sister’s wedding to a wealthy and powerful prince, Zeraphina experiences an unexplainable pull further north to the mysterious Lharmell, a place no one really knows anything about, or if they do, they refuse to talk about it. When she meets the king’s advisor, Rodden, who is in charge of protecting the city's borders from the inhabitants of Lharmell, he appears to know what she is, but refuses to tell her anything. He is infuriating but immensely intriguing and draws Zeraphina in, despite her efforts to remain at a distance.

Zeraphina is naturally inquisitive and feisty, and she finds a sparring partner in Rodden, not to mention a connection unlike any other. The chemistry between the two is filled with both admiration and disgust, neither admitting their true feelings in light of the negative impressions they seem to have made. There is always that sizzling tension that is ignored and a masked ball scene between the two is particularly intoxicating. Hart certainly knows how to raise the level of anticipation!

There were a number of times I was taken by surprise (in a good way) at the direction the story took and found many scenes to be action packed, engaging and suspenseful. Although Rodden originally got on my nerves at his refusal to tell Zeraphina anything, I quickly grew to love him and there weren’t any characters in the story that I disliked. I particularly loved Zeraphina’s animal companions, Leap and Griffin, and their unique abilities of communication. Ultimately I love the world Rhiannon Hart has created and the mythology and medieval aspects woven into it. I am really looking forward to book two. Too bad it won’t be released until 2012!

Thankyou to Random House Australia for this review copy.