The Light of Asteria Blog Tour: Author Interview

In honour of The Light of Asteria's blog tour I have the author, Elizabeth Isaacs, here for an interview! My questions and comments are in bold, so that you can tell which lines are Elizabeth's answers. :D

--------------------------------------------☆---★---☆--------------------------------------------

Hi Elizabeth! Thanks for stopping by my blog for this interview, it’s great having you here. :)

Thanks so much for inviting me!

First, can you describe The Light of Asteria for any of my followers that haven’t heard of it yet?

If Nora Johnson hadn't been on campus she would've never known her destiny. Helping her friends move, Nora meets Gavin Frey. His touch unleashes a power within, and she's now captivated by his presence. But he's not who he claims to be. And there are others. Others who fear the power of love, who haunt her dreams. Others who want her dead. Is she strong enough to survive?


The Light of Asteria is an incredibly imaginative story. What inspired you to write it?

The story was originally written as a gift for my daughter. I wanted to her have an example of what love should be, and I wanted her to understand the power of forgiveness.


One of my favourite smaller details in the book was the attention to detail towards eye colour, and how they were often described and even associated with precious gemstones, was there a specific reason why you chose to do this?

I’m a symbolic writer. It’s a sickness, really. I love to chalk a story full of symbolism knowing that I’m the only one who will probably ever make the correlation. My writer friends lovingly call it a “party-in-my-head”. :-)
The eyes of the Alfar are no exception. Here’s a list of the characters eye color and their gemstone’s symbolic meaning.
Nora—topaz. Biblically topaz represents beauty, worthiness, and honour.
Gavin—emerald. Biblically emeralds are referred as the glories of God, flourishing, essence of life, growth, and prosperity.
Malachi—diamond. These gemstones represent stability, brilliancy, virtuousity, and right standing with God.
Rena—jasper brown. Jasper is steeped in protection, beauty, and wrath. It was too tempting to pass up. I knew Rena had to have Jasper brown eyes!
Tark—lapis. Lapis is known for its healing powers and bringing a sense of peace.
Elias—sapphire. Symbolically, sapphires represent guarding, protecting, and foundational truth.
Elaine—Jade. Jade is said to bring balance in times of strife. Between Elias’ intensity and Gavin’s passion, Elaine does just that, doesn’t she?
Queen Lera—light purple opal. Opals allow the wearer to see both sides of an issue. They help bring equilibrium when giving and receiving.


The Light of Asteria is full of an intricate history of legends and mythologies. Were they all of your creation, or did you have some basis for them?


Asteria started as a freewrite, a vast woodland that still stood as it was originally created. I knew within the first few pages that I needed to find something or someone that would be worthy of Kailmeyra. And so, I started researching.

The Alfar are actually from Norse mythology. The origin of the word implies beings of light. Likewise, the term Dokkalfar literally means dark elves. While the Alfar are known to love art and beauty, the Dokkalfar were known to cause nightmares, and they were generally violent and destructive toward humans.

It was a perfect fit. I took quite a few liberties (the Alfar are described from fair-haired, light skinned, grey eyed creatures to beings that shine brighter than the sun), but I did draw a few distinctions from the original myth.

The Light of Asteria is just the first book in the series. Can you tell us a bit about its sequel, The Secrets of the Keepers?

The Secret of the Keepers literally picks up where the last book left off. Nora and Gavin are now husband and wife, and they soon discover that married life is not what they thought it would be. Too, the enemy is back and now has an ally. The darkness grows, doubt seeps in, and Nora doubts everything she knows to be true.

The work is a bit darker than Asteria, and even more emotional. Whereas Asteria is a story of relational love and understanding the power in positive emotions, Keepers is a story of faith, and it explores the idea that love sometimes means sacrifice.

Do you know how many books there will be in the Kalimeyra series?

I’m currently working on The Heart of the Ancients, Kailmeyra’s Redemption, which is the third, and final, book in the series. It is slated for release in April of 2013.

Thanks again for this awesome interview, Elizabeth! :D

--------------------------------------------☆---★---☆--------------------------------------------

I find it so interesting that symbolism played such an important role in Elizabeth's writing experience, and that the story started as a gift to her daughter. That's such a wonderful way for a story to begin. :)

What about you? What part or parts of the interview did you find the most interesting?

Happy Reading!!!

♪♫ Ambur