Birth of the Bacchae by Stephanie Mirro Book Tour and Giveaway :)
Birth
of the Bacchae
Immortal
Relics Book 1
by
Stephanie Mirro
Genre:
Urban Fantasy
"Vampires,
Immortals, Bacchae—they’re all the same. The name may change, but
their appetites never do."
Ever
since archaeology student Serafina Finch found an ancient Roman
amulet on a dig in Italy, she's been having dreams. Strange dreams
that leave her with an eerie sense of foreboding. But between a busy
college schedule and a boyfriend she's hoping to marry, she doesn't
have time for strange.
Then
a mysterious cult takes an obsessive interest in the artifact.
Serafina finds her life in chaos as she's thrown into the
supernatural world, where Immortals and witches alike claim ownership
of the amulet. Her amulet.
As
her connection to the amulet grows, she discovers a dark secret about
her past. Serafina realizes she must protect the powerful relic at
all costs--even if it means losing one of the people she loves
most.
“Invisible.
Powerful. Immortal. We are Bacchae.”
BIRTH
OF THE BACCHAE is a New Adult Urban Fantasy novel exploring the
origins of vampire lore in a modern setting. Where do the stories
come from? How were vampires created? Do they still exist today?
The front door opened, and a figure
encased in shadows shuffled into the darkened hallway, plastic bags
hanging from each arm. Wrapping his hand around the man’s throat,
Solomon pinned him to the wall before the door had time to shut. The
bags clattered to the floor, glass breaking. “You were warned to stay away.” A
flash of red lit up Leif’s gasping face as Solomon’s power flared
from his eyes. He couldn’t let Leif know how much of his Immortal
influence he had lost since their last encounter. A maniacal chuckle gurgled out from the
man in front of him. Solomon dropped Leif to his feet, where he bent
over wheezing and rubbing his throat. Being that close to the unkempt
man meant Solomon got a strong whiff of his internal decomposition.
He resisted the urge to take a step back. “I knew you’d show up,” Leif said
with a grin, his nasal voice strained even further from the throttle.
He adjusted his thick-lensed glasses before bending down to collect
the bags, grimacing as he looked inside one. “You didn’t have to
break my jam.”
Stephanie
Mirro's lifelong love of ancient mythology led to majoring in the
Classics in college, which wasn't quite as much fun as writing her
own mythology stories as she did as a child. But that education,
combined with an overactive imagination and being an avid fantasy
reader, resulted in a writing career.
Starting
her days with coffee and ending them with wine means Stephanie can
usually be found juggling household chores, keeping the kids alive,
and trying to write, edit, publish, and market the stories that haunt
her dreams.
Born
and raised in Southern Arizona, Stephanie now resides in Northern
Virginia with her husband, two kids, and two furbabies. This thing
called "seasons" is still magical.
What
inspired you to write this book?
When
I was in college, I studied the Classics which is the study of
ancient civilizations. At some point, I learned about various mystery
rites—religious ceremonies we don't know much about. My favorite
was the Bacchanalia, a celebration dedicated to Bacchus (the Roman
god of wine, frenzies, and festivities). The rite included feats of
inhuman strength such as uprooting trees, tearing apart a bull with
one's bare hands, and eating its raw flesh. And from there the idea
grew.
What can
we expect from you in the future?
Her
Majesty’s Fury,
book 2 of the Immortal Relics, will come out this fall (my goal is by
end of October). I’ll write book 3 during November’s NaNoWriMo
challenge with the goal of publishing by spring. I have plans to keep
going with the series, including 2 novellas which will be origin
stories for the Bacchae characters Solomon and Danae (Bacchae =
vampire in my world). After that or while I’m working on those, I
have a YA post-zombie apocalypse series I can’t wait to start.
Where did
you come up with the names in the story?
For
some, I waited until the characters themselves told me their names.
Serafina Finch is one of those. For others, I did some research. For
example, I looked up common slave names of the 1800s to name Solomon
Jones. It didn’t connect at first that my two POV characters both
began with the letter ‘S’ so I tried to change his name to a few
others but nothing stuck. He was Solomon. Danae I had known for a
long time as it came from my studies in college.
Who
designed your book covers?
Hampton
from TS95studios! I can’t say enough great things about his art and
his professionalism. He will be doing all of the Immortal Relics
covers.
If you had
to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest
book?
That’s
a tough one. The thing is, it’s my debut novel. I’ve learned a
lot from writing Birth
of the Bacchae,
and I worked really hard to edit it as I learned new things. Could
there be improvements? Absolutely. I’m well aware the book is more
of a slow burn than dropping right into major action. But you write
what you love, and I love a slow burn. I’ve also embraced the fact
that the series will show my writing progression, and, not to toot my
own horn too much, but I think I’m starting out at a pretty decent
place.
Did you
learn anything during the writing of your recent book?
So
much! But I’ll focus on writing itself. I started out as a bit of a
pantser, but I discovered I’m much better with a loose outline. I’m
not a full-blown plotter, but I need to know the major plot points so
I don’t get muddled down in the mundane. I actually had no
experience with all the various ways one can structure a novel, but
I’m really glad I found one that resonates with me (K.M. Weiland’s
“Structuring Your Novel”).
How did
you come up with the name for Birth
of the Bacchae?
It
literally popped into my head when I was daydreaming during class. I
know the name is going to trip some people up (Bacchae = BOCK-eye),
but changing the title was like trying to change Solomon’s name. It
just couldn’t be done. I chopped close to 10k words from my story
during editing, so I’m not afraid to make changes. But some things
just are.
What is
your favorite part of this book and why?
There’s
a scene near the end that started the entire story. It’s part of
the climax, so I don’t want to spoil it, but it starts with the
words, “Drip… drip… drip…” It’s best read while listening
to Marilyn Manson’s cover of “Sweet Dreams,” which I listened
to about a thousand times while writing the scene. It’s dark and
full of angst, just like the scene.
Convince
us why you feel your book is a must-read.
I’ll
share my favorite review from Goodreads as an answer: “(I've
read roughly 47 million vampire novels, and I can honestly say that
this is the first time I have read this particular origin story -- so
47 million points to Gryffindor for that.)
In
this universe, vampires are the creations of Bacchus, the Roman god
of wine and madness, made to be his companions. However, they have
gone astray from his ways and become violent predators, betraying
their creator. When Serafina discovers an ancient Bacchic relic on an
archaeological dig, she sets of [sic] a chain of events, inserting
herself in the middle of that struggle.
I
thoroughly enjoyed the story, and I appreciated the fact that it
didn't feel like I had already read it before. My predictions weren't
all true, and I enjoy being surprised. Plus, it's always fun when the
vampires are good ole' fashioned monstrous bad guys, not sparkly love
interests.
*adds
author's next book to release calendar*
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