New CMP Release, Dakota Captive, by Alythia Brown

If ever there was a book to buy due to its attractiveness, Dakota Captive is it. What a brilliant design and the colors just pop.

I am so proud to present to you one of my fellow authors from Crescent Moon Press, Alythia Brown, and her novel, Dakota Captive. Did I mention the title is awesome as well?

Generally, I put the interview next, but in this case, I'm putting in the blurb. It's more for myself than anyone. I want to see what the book is about.

Blurb:

When the evil spirit of Jumlin returns with his army of Offspring, the Earth Spirits are summoned to protect the Lakota. Unbeknownst to Charli, these Earth Spirits are a sacred secret. So she probably shouldn’t have spied from behind a rock when they shifted from their animal forms, she shouldn’t have taken pictures, and she definitely shouldn’t have gotten caught. Now a hostile prisoner, Charli is forced to walk a long journey to reach the one man who can erase the knowledge of the Earth Spirits' existence from her mind.  

Naturally, Charli thinks all she needs to do is keep her big mouth shut, get her memory erased, and go home. But Jumlin’s Offspring are stalking her. Since no one can explain this unusual behavior, it becomes imperative to enter the Other World--a place where the Lakota have lived traditionally and without foreign oppression (but not without menacing dragons). Aside from being kidnapped, whisked away to a foreign world, hunted, and forced to live amongst strangers, Charli must come to terms with a new nuisance: she's falling for one of her abductors.

What a great story line! And seriously, I want that dress.

Now for my interview:

What inspired you to write Dakota Captive?

I’ve always been intrigued by Native American culture and history. (Of course, this is a very broad statement, as culture varies from tribe to tribe.) When I was little, I would ask my mother questions about the people who inhabited America before the U.S. was established and I found myself extremely disappointed to learn the typical, present-day Native American didn’t live in a thipi! I had wished there was a place where they did—untouched. This memory of a childhood thought was inspiration for a particular place in my novel: the Other World. The Other World is the magical realm where the Lakota live in the traditional spirit of their ancestors, without foreign oppression but not without dragons and fairies.

Don’t give away any secrets, but what’s your book about?

Charli is a teenage girl who finds herself held prisoner by four Lakota Earth Spirits who are pretty upset that she has witnessed their sacred secret. The day she hid behind that boulder and watched as four animals shifted into people was not only disturbing but apparently reason enough to become a kidnap victim. Their plan is to take her to Pale Horse, the shaman who can erase her memory, but the group hits some bumps along the way. For instance, Jumlin, the demon prowling the Earth in the form of a man, is extremely interested in Charli.

How did you come up with the title?

Not only did Charli’s parents force her to move to North Dakota during her senior year, but she is abducted there as well. Figuratively and literally, Charli became a captive of North Dakota.

Do you have plans for a new book and/or is your book part of a series?

Dakota Captive will be a trilogy. I’m always planning.

How long does it take you to write a novel?

Way, WAY too long! I wish I had more time to crank out a novel every month or two. However, my designated writing hours are after the three kids are asleep. Sometimes, I pass out right after them. It’s a slow process for me!

Do you have a day job?

Yes. Two, in fact! I’m a mother of three and I work for a digital marketing company as a remote employee. The kiddos are home with me while I work. My sons are already school age, so it’s just my three-year-old daughter and me in the mornings. I set up my “office” where she can sit beside me and play with playdoh, make a craft, or play with toys while I work.

Do you work from an outline or just write?

At first, I just write. Usually, I begin writing in a journal (preferably outdoors) with a silky pen. Once I decide I’m going to pursue the story, I transfer what I have over to my computer and nail down a plot.

White wine or red?

White in the summer, red in the winter. I don’t consider myself a wine snob by any means—I can’t even remember what kind of wine I like—but apparently cheap wine gives me insta-headaches. Like, one-sip-later-my-brain-is-burning-a-little kind of insta-headaches. By the fates design, I have been given the superhuman ability to distinguish expensive wine from two-buck-chuck without ever looking at the bottle. I promise to use it for good.

Coffee or tea?

COFFEE. Sometimes, I only look forward to going to bed so I can wake up and have coffee. It’s a sickness, I know…

Vanilla or chocolate?

Chocolate.

Dogs or cats?

I have two, horrible, terrible, stinky dogs who steal food, jump, lick and make messes. Thereby, I am a cat person… who apparently loves her two mangy mutts for no good reason.

Sleep in or get up early?

I know I’m better off waking up early and I’m always glad when I do, but I stay up too late to enjoy hearing my alarm clock.

BIOGRAPHY

Alythia Brown was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she now lives with her husband and their three small children. She found her inspiration to write Dakota Captive after traveling to North Dakota to return an authentic peace pipe to the Lakota Natives. The artifact had been picked up after the Massacre of Wounded Knee in 1890, and eventually ended up in the hands of one of her ancestors—who, in turn, told everyone it was a wagon spoke. Alythia is the author of two short stories, published in the Mertales anthology, and she aspires to publish many more books for children, teens, and young adults.

Links (http://www.alythiabrown.com/ http://www.alythiabrown.com/books.html)

Webpage: www.alythiabrown.com

Facebook: Facebook.com/alythiabrown

Twitter: @alyconnerbrown

Stay tuned because next week we'll have an excerpt from Dakota Captive.

(((hugs)))

Louann

---