The Wolves Keeper Legend fantasy book

EVERYTHING DISTILS INTO READING
"I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound and stab us." Franz Kafka

Guest Post by Sylvia Weber, author of The Wolves' Keeper Legend


Homeland of heroes by Sylvia Weber, author of The Wolves' Keeper Legend

There is a deep and unbreakable bond between Portugal and India. This love story started in the fifteenth century, with the journey of Vasco da Gama across the Atlantic and Indic oceans. At that time, India was like a distant, beautiful lady in the dreams of a Poet. Everybody sighed for her and everyone wanted to find a way how to reach her. Multiple obstacles had to be overcome, the fear and the preconception had to be defeated. The Portuguese child had to go through a voyage of maturity to become a man and conquer her love. And so he did, travelling in his little caravels, facing abysses and mountains of water, unknown monsters and countless perils.
Since that time, India remained in our hearts, as a world of magic and music, of mysticism and culture. Beauty that words cannot describe, with her golden skies, her deep blue sea, her sumptuous temples and her majestic peacocks. How I remember the Jewel of the Crown, by Christopher Morahan and Jim O'Brien and the Passage to India, by David Lean, images that marked my vision of India forever.
India is, for me, a country of heroes, more than anything. Three personalities to whom I look up with reverence and the most respect, and whose footsteps I try to follow every day of my life. None of these, I must say, is more or less important than the other - all of them are heroes who the world couldn't live without.
The first of my heroes is Gandhi. He was born at 2 October 1869 and deceased in 30 January 1948. Since 1915, he lived in India and operated a true peaceful revolution against the British imperial tyranny. A revolution of heart, of mentalities, with no weapons but the power of word. He fought against oppression and discrimination, standing by those ones who couldn't defend themselves, because they had no power and no voice. He gave a soul to India and this is the reason why he is called the Father of the Nation. There is no way how we cannot admire this man who moved mountains with his ideals and beliefs.
The second of my heroes, but never the least in terms of greatness, is Mother Theresa of Calcuta. She is my strongest reference and my highest ideal. This extraordinary lady lived to serve the human being, seeing in the poor the image of Jesus. Her heart could embrace all a nation and the world. She is the image of perfection, of abnegation, of generosity. She gave up everything, a comfortable life, to live side by side, hand in hand with the "poorest of the poorest", to give a little joy to those to whom life was only suffering, to build hope where there was only darkness. She saved children, old and ill from the despair of loneliness, she took the food from her mouth to alleviate the hunger of others. Her home was India, her heart was India.
The third, whom I've been with in Portugal and who I will never forget is the Dalai Lama. He is an absolutely fascinating personality, with a Philosophy of life that, being practiced, would change the world. He never talked only about the Tibet of his heart, but he has a vision of a whole world of Peace, where all mankind hold hands and builds a better future. He talks in behalf of the children, the victims of war and poverty, the unprotected. In his vision, the sharing, the acceptance and the forgiveness are paths to achieve higher wisdom and Peace. Also, I must say, it was India the country that gave him refuge and home when his life was threatened and when he had nowhere to go.
So, I have all kinds of reasons to love and respect India - the beauty in body and soul of that lady who Portugal fell in love with.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for writing this, Sylvia.
Goa is a legacy of Portugal. One can still find traces of it there.
And do visit India, whenever you can. I am very glad you wrote this.

Posted by gautami tripathy at 05:54 2 comments Links to this post
Labels: Guest Post


2 Comments

Veens said...
Thank You Sylvia for writing such nice words about India!
Thank YOU Gautami!
July 23, 2009 6:42 AM

violetcrush said...
Thanks for the lovely post. As Gautami said we find a lot of Portugal influence in Goa even today.

And you know what? I once met Dalai Lama. Not actually met but performed in front of him and his 100's of followers who had come to our school. I was playing a Buddhist and I remember many of his followers complimenting me on how nice I looked. Sorry for the tangent, but its just a very fond memory I have. Thanks for bringing it back.
July 23, 2009 4:38 PM

Amber Stults - Book Reviewer and Author

Her writing space on the internet
Meet Sylvia Weber - Author of The Wolves Keeper Legend
Filed under:Event - posted by Amber on July 22, 2009 @ 1:00 am

As part of the Pump Up Your Book Promotions tour for The Wolves Keeper Legend, Sylvia Weber was kind enough to take time from her schedule to answer a few interview questions via email. You'll find her personal blog, Rock the Cage, on blogspot. I hope you enjoy getting to know her as much as I did!

Amber: You've lived in many places in Portugal. Is there any one place that you would call more beautiful than the others?

Sylvia: The most beautiful place in Portugal, one that I sometimes remember with a certain sorrow in my heart, is Serra da Estrela. There, among the mountains, is a small place called Ponte das Três Entradas, which is truly unique. It has a small crystalline river, tall majestic conifers, grey boulders that seem miraculously balanced upon each other. There we can see the beautiful giant, Serra da Estrela dog, and taste delicious cheeses and bacons. The people are simple and gentle. I know people, nature lovers, from several places in Europe who like to spend there all their holidays.


Amber: I noticed in your biography you spent some time in Scotland before settling in England. Did your stay in Scotland influence your use of Gaelic in the story or were you interested in Gaelic before then?

Sylvia: My first contact with Gaelic was through the books of Enid Blyton, when I was still a young girl. I remember that the Author defined this Language as a melody and it sounded very beautiful.
Then, I had a new contact when I was in University, studying Linguistics. I always had the idea of doing research for my Masters Degree in Historical Linguistics, by comparing the medieval languages and studying their branches of evolution, specially in what they are still connected to each other.
Being in Scotland certainly changed everything. We went there decided to move to Aberdeen, the "all different; all equal; all together" city. I fell in love with
Scotland and its people when we went there. While we were driving around, all night long, looking for a place to sleep, we met a man who worked in a reservation and were talking with him for a while. That's when I had the first contact with the real Gaelic, the spoken language. From there on, I decided to do more research.

Amber: Was it a practical choice or an artistic choice to have the vocabulary words italicized each time they are used?

Sylvia: At the beginning, there were some words that I italicized and some others that I didn't. In one of the revisions, I was advised to use one only criterion and then I decided to italicize them all. It has something to do with the fact that most of the words I use, as I researched, are from archaic Gaelic, and Latin, not from the actual one. I found this technique in books that make references to archaic Languages, such as, for example, The Tutankhamun prophecies, by Maurice Cotterell or Secrets from the Lost Bible, by Kenneth Hanson. The real purpose was highlighting the differences, making the Language more visible to the reader and, at the same time, showing deference.

Amber: Sealgair learned how to make fire from his father. Because of his curse he doesn't know about the birth of his son. What do you think Sealgair would have taught Seanns?

Sylvia: In my opinion, the biggest legacy that Sealgair could teach Seanns would be his Art, his work with clay. There is something magic about clay, the primordial material. I've seen the clay being worked, when I was a child, and I consider it a fascinating Art. In a few years, unfortunately, it may be extinct.

Amber: Seanns is a wise boy. Are there more tales in the works featuring Seanns?

Sylvia: I love Seanns as a son, ever since I met him. I'm deeply interested in his growth and in his learning. I intend to make another journey with him… My journey hasn't finished yet, nor has his. We'll cross the ocean together. Who knows what we'll find?

Amber: It can take a long time between writing a novel and publication. You wrote this when you were 12. How did you feel when you finally had a printed copy of your book in your hands?

Sylvia: I felt fulfilled, finally. For the first time, and only so far, I felt that my journey was worth it. Leaving home, leaving everything behind, not being able to find a job as a teacher, enduring so many difficulties. This publishing gave me a reason to go on. It gave hope for the future. It was like a breath after a long
diving.

Share and Enjoy:

Scribe Vibe

Here is Silvia's guest post:

The footsteps I follow: Authors I admire.

The first Author I want to refer here is Jostein Gaarder. I start by this one because he wrote the sweetest, the most wonderful book I know: Though a glass, darkly.

Jostein Gaarder was born in Oslo, at August, 8, 1952. Through his life, he wrote several novels, short stories and children's books.

This book, Through a glass, darkly, is a very special one. It tells the story of a young girl, Cecilie Skotbu, who is seriously ill and is learning to face the most terrible and scary thing that anyone, at any age, can face: her own death. In one of her long nights, she meets an angel, Ariel, who sits in the edge of her bed, by her side, and talks with her about the mysteries of life and death, about her concerns, memories and wishes. This angel is different from the conception of angel that we all are taught to "see", the long silky vestments, the long curly blond hair and the wings. Ariel is white, totally albino, has no wings and doesn't have any kind of hair in his body. Gently, he shows her a world where everybody is precious and special, where children are a miracle, not a burden, where dreams matter.

The second is J. R. R. Tolkien. There is no doubt that his series, The Lord of the Rings, if not unbeatable in terms of fantastic conception, of detail, of plot, of characters, of everything, at least it will be very difficult to find one that can stand side by side with it. I can't foretell the future, though.

Tolkien was born in South Africa at January, 3 1989, and departed at September, 2 1973. He came to England at three years old and he lived here, as I understood, all his life. He had a brilliant career, not only as a writer, but also as a Professor of Anglo-Saxon in Oxford between 1925 and 1945, and of English Language and Literature between 1945 and 1959. I can only imagine how fascinating he was as a Professor.

His novel, The Lord of the Rings, was written between 1937 and 1949. It tells the story of a world that in many ways resembles the one we are living in. A perfect, beautiful world, with gentle innocent people, the Hobbits, that is transforming itself, by the action and the influence of an ambitious Lord with no scruples, Sauron, into a devastated, sad and cruel environment. A hero, Frodo Baggins, who is responsible for the Ring of Power and his faithful, most dedicated friend, Samwise Gamgee, who is willing to give his life for Frodo. The hero must destroy the ring before the ring destroys the world he loves and, in his epic journey, he meets new friends, new companions, who will help him take is mission to the end and who share with him fascinating stories.

The third one, one that I would take with me to a desert island, is Jean M. Auel. She gave us one of the most fantastic, most extraordinary epic series, The Earth's Children.

Jean Marie Auel was born in Chicago, Illinois, at February, 18, 1936.

She did a truly impressive research to write her book. She started at 1977, reading all the books she could about the Ice age. Then, she even took survival classes with Jim Riggs, learning the skills that our ancestors needed to live in that age - making fire, knapping the silex to make cutting instruments and tanning the leather to make clothes. She learned about the lives of Neanderthal people and of the first Homo Sapiens. Her books hold also a very precious knowledge of healing plants and edibles.

Her heroin is Ayla, a little child that an earthquake leaves orphan in a very threatening world, inhabited by cave lions, sabre-teeth tigers and cave bears. She is sheltered by Iza, a medicine woman of the Clan and by the Mog-ur, the supreme sorcerer, though the chieftain, Brun, is very suspicious about her, because she is one of the Others. She grows among the Neanderthal, in a position of subserviency, but she learns the healing arts of her "mother", Iza. She is a curious bright girl, and soon enough becomes detached by learning skills that could only be dominated by a man, like hunting. This way, she becomes a threat to the Clan.

She is violated by a fellow of the Clan, Broud, and she has a child, Durc, who she loves very much but she is forced to leave behind when she is voted to ostracism by the Clan. It's then that her journey starts, and it will be lonely, harsh and difficult, until she finds a home among the Others. She will live with a horse, Whinney, a wolf and a cave-lion. And she will meet Jondalar, her loving companion, and live with him an extraordinary love story.

This series is brilliant. When one book ends, immediately we want to pick up the next. I just couldn't stop reading. I felt so sad when it ended, and I was desperately looking in all the book stores and libraries for other books of the same Author, of the same kind... Unfortunately, I could find none alike.

The fourth one, one that undeniably influenced me in many different ways, was Umberto Eco.

Umberto Eco was born in Alessandria, Italy, at January, 5 1932. He is a renowned medievalist and philosopher and he reproduced perfectly the medieval world and mentality in his novel The name of the Rose.

This novel was written at 1983 and its action happens in a monastery at 1327. There, the friar William of Baskerville arrives with his assistant Adso, and will have an important part in solving a mystery. The deaths of several friars seem to be related with the supposed presence of a book, the Comedy of Aristotle. The fantastic thing is that this genius of Classic Antiquity wrote two magisterial works, the Tragedy, which arrived to our days, and the Comedy, which by unknown reasons was lost. The Tragedy teaches people how to compose a heartbreaking Work, marked by ignorance, suspense and terror. I won't discuss its structure now. The Comedy taught people how to compose a Work to make people laugh to tears. And this was, in medieval ages, something utterly dangerous, a demonic power. So, this book had to disappear...

The fifth, the last but never the least important, was Marion Zimmer Bradley. Her work is amazing and how can there be more words to describe it?

Marion Zimmer Bradley was born in Albany, New York, at June, 3, 1930. She died at September, 25, 1999. She is a bestselling Author of fantasy novels.

The one that most fascinated me is the Mists of Avalon series, published at 1982. Based in the Chivalry novels of King Arthur, it shows us a totally different perspective of the story, the look of a woman. This lady is Morgaine, Arthur's half-sister and priestess of Avalon, who fights alone to save the ways of the Celts, the respect for the Mother and the ancient religion. She is so human, though, so subject to fears and doubts, to fascination and passion, that she captures the reader within a weave. Her journeys between Avalon and our world are thrilling; the way how she gets lost into the fairies' world, the way how she learns to open the passage, the way how she calls the mist to protect her world... The end is disappointing, though realistic - Avalon disappears into another level and she finds refuge into a convent, worshipping the Mother as she always did, though with another face, another name...

And I have many other favourites, but I couldn't mention them all here.

Posted by Tracee at 4:45 AM 1 comments
Labels: Cape Verde, Leonardo da Vinci, Modern language, Mozambique, Portugal, Sylvia Weber, UK, United States

THE PLOT

Interview with Sealgair and Seanns of The Wolves’ Keeper Legend by Sylvia Weber

Posted on July 7, 2009 by Rose
http://theplotline.wordpress.com/

Sealgair and Seanns never met. Though Sealgair was told by Awena of the birth of his only son, he thought that he had died. Mother and father left Caladh with a weight in their hearts, but hoping to build a new life somewhere, away from the fears, preconceptions and cursed story that they lived before. So they went, hand in hand, towards the sunset.
Seanns and his friend Maise also left Caladh, later, moved by the need to grow and learn, driven by a dream of finding the legendary Luath, world of the Hawk-people.

They met later, in the land of a thousand lakes, by mere chance. It was Awena who recognised Seanns among the crowd, and who introduced him as a friend to Sealgair. She also didn’t know that he was their son.

Sealgair: You are travelling alone, Seanns. What happened to your friend?

Seanns: Maise fell in love with a wonderful girl. He got married to her and settled down in Völund. Now he is teaching young children and he is very happy.

Sealgair: Did he give up his dreams, then?

Seanns: No, of course not. For many years he travelled with me. We had many fantastic adventures. Only there is a time in any man’s life when he feels the need for… Tenderness, security, family. It is a natural course of life. The wolves did the same. They stayed in the mountains, in their natural habitat, found their mates, had their cubs; generations passed. So, I’m alone.

Sealgair: What about your own family? Are you in touch with them?

Seanns: Well, in these times news come very slowly. I can see, them, though, when I want, through the pearl that Angus gave me before I left Caladh. They are well.

Sealgair: Don’t you miss them? Wouldn’t you go back?

Seanns: I will go back, some day, yes. Sometimes I think that I would like to see Caladh again. But I didn’t arrive to my destiny yet. There are too many things to see…

Sealgair: Didn’t you find Luath, yet?

Seanns: No. I have some clues, though. The old man, Jarl, told me of a way through the eternal ice, through which we get to the valley where the last survivors live. I want to try to get there.

Sealgair: What if… You don’t make it? It’s such a dangerous journey!

Seanns: I’ll make it… Or I’ll die trying.

Sealgair: You are such a resolute man… How did you cross the ocean to get here, to Völund?

Seanns: We travelled up North, through the mountains, me and Maise. It was a very difficult journey, mainly due to the rough weather. We got lost in the storm and, completely unaware, we arrived to a village. The people there gave us shelter and received us as friends – as if we were friends coming back home. When they left in their boats, we decided to go with them.

Sealgair: How far did you go, then?

Seanns: I went much further up North, to the limits of the eternal ice, where the gorges of Cruinne explode in fire. I can’t deny it… I was scared. I remembered you, and my mom, then. There was something that made me come back down. I’m glad I felt this appeal, or I wouldn’t have found you.

Sealgair: Where did this appeal come from? How did you feel it?

Seanns: I entered in the pearl world several times in those years, as you can imagine. Every time I went there it became easier – it was never like the first time. The Fear-Diona always talked to me. They told me of a destiny – to save the Spring of Life. I don’t know what it is!

Sealgair: Is there a Mine of Dreams, then, here in Völund?

Seanns: Yes, there is. Not here in the city, though. Its entry is in the top of the mountain. There is a small round construction, where a few men study the skies…

Sealgair: Cíbeir told me once about those men… What happened to Cíbeir?

Seanns: Cíbeir died in that tragic night. He was trying to protect me and Maise against the fury of Baoghal, deep in the fortress of Gaoth.

Sealgair: Why did you go there?

Seanns: We went there to find the papyrus-pearls to release you, Awena and everybody else who was a prisoner of Fiosaiche’s malefic intentions.

American Chronicle


Silvia agreed to an interview with me. This is what she had to say:

Where are you from?

I was born in Abrantes, a small town in the centre of Portugal.

When and why did you begin writing?

I began writing at twelve years old, when I moved with my family to Amadora. By then, I was a very lonely teenager, living in a world of stone, far away from my beloved trees, facing different demands of a society where appearances are more important than genuine feelings. I had to create an alternative world, a world where I could feel free.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I always dreamt of being a writer, but I only considered myself a writer when I managed to publish my book.

What inspired you to write your first book?

I was inspired by nature; the trees, the mountains, the rivers always remained in my heart. I found another inspiration in people. I´ve always been a friend of people. There was no specific happening or person whop inspired me to write this particular book.

Do you have a specific writing style?

I have a writing style that I developed ever since I was in school. My teacher called it a poetic prose.

How did you come up with the title?

I never can find a title before starting a book. I´ve always been told that "The title comes at the end", and it´s true. Once started, the story and the characters no longer depend on what the author wants them to do, but the story assumes a course of its own, instead. When I finally finished the book - this much I was surprised - the title came naturally.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

Many messages, which I call the keys to this book - Love your children; Respect the elders; Protect the Earth.

How much of the book is realistic?

There is nothing of realistic in this book. There are purely fantastic situations, and verisimilar ones; I mean: this would happen if...

Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?

I have influences of impressive people I knew, like Lady Briallen (the name is fictitious) or one extraordinary priest, like Cíbeir, whom I knew when I was in secondary school.

What books have influenced your life most?

I was influenced by the Holy Bible, which taught me that there is one Love, one world, one Humanity, no differences between people, one only belief, that is universal, no matter which name we call it, the depth and the essence of personality, fantasy and reality. I was influenced by The mists of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley, which introduced me into a different world, a world of fairies and magic, of kings and swords, of honour and freedom. I was very influenced by the Earth´s Children series, by Jean M. Auel; a sequence of books which unveiled another world, another kind of people, the past and the future of Humanity and of the Earth.

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

Jean M. Auel, without a shadow of doubt. She did a deep research and was very accurate in the reconstitution of the pre-Historical world. She explored the nature, but also the mentalities, the sociological structure of the society, the fears and hopes of our ancestors. At last, she created a work that I can´t stop reading - thrilling, vehement, amazing.

What book are you reading now?

I´m reading The Sign and the Seal, by Graham Hancock. It is another extraordinary research - a man´s modern quest for the lost Ark of the Covenant. It is a very interesting journey through the ancient and the modern world and gets to an astonishing conclusion!

Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?

There is one special lady, Roz Savage, who wrote the book Rowing the Atlantic and is crossing the Pacific alone, right now, from Hawaii to Australia. Another amazing lady, in South Africa, has a Blog, 1 door away from heaven, where she writes the most beautiful poetry I´ve ever seen. She signs up as Shadow. In The Plot, I read about Hunsinger, who wrote the book Axe of Iron: the settlers, the first of a series. By the presentation, it must be really interesting and is on my plans to read it.

What are your current projects?

I am researching for my new book, and I´m studying Management Accounting.

Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.

In Portugal, new authors are very lonely people. I´ve had no support at all.

Do you see writing as a career?

Every writer would like to have a writing career, but very few fulfil this dream, I think. There are many activities and professions, though, which are associated with writing, as working to magazines, newspapers, Internet, Journalism, which I could feel as an accomplishment. Teaching is also a very rewarding profession.

What do you think makes a good story?

Imagination and knowledge, together, are unbeatable. A good story is the one we are able to get into and live, whether it is through imagination or reality.

Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?

I learned something that my father used to tell me many times - to find the strength and the inspiration within. I understood that I could exceed myself - to give more than I thought I could, to be more than I thought I would.