Guest: Leslie Soule

Today's guest is Leslie Soule and her first fatasy novel, Fallenwood. Please join me in welcoming her!

Favorite TV or movie hunk:

My favorite movie hunk is definitely Orlando Bloom as Legolas in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. He’s hunky, but the difficult part comes from trying to define what exactly makes him that way. After all, personality-wise, the elves of Middle Earth tend to come off as a bit cold and stoic, mysterious and…different – it creates a kind of allure. Also, there’s just something about pointy ears.

I remember reading something in a magazine about Orlando Bloom commenting on the elves, saying that there’s nothing sexually threatening about an elf, and this is part of their charm as well, I think – that they don’t seem like domineering creatures, berserkers or barbarians, and yet they are not entirely passive either. Rather, the elves seem like a race whose interests are elsewhere than sex. Ironically, this is what makes them sexy.

           

Also, there’s something very attractive about the idea of the “good guys” rushing in and attempting to defeat a seemingly unconquerable evil, and battling the forces of darkness even if hope is forlorn. You see, “sexy” exists in the mind, a collection of perceived truths about the world. A person’s recognition of something sexy, signals that an idea has occurred to them that is presenting itself to the person’s mind as a fulfillment to a lack (i.e. Legolas’s battle prowess against the orcs is alluring because my own battles against the darkness don’t seem to go as well as his, sometimes). But that’s getting in really deep, philosophically.

Suffice to say, I think Orlando Bloom makes a very hunky Legolas. J

Back off Orlando...he's mine! At least you have great taste in men. I found his humor and honor and the fact that he WAS so different from the other elves attractive. And then I saw him in Pirates and yum. Just yum.

Blurb:

Fallenwood—a land where magic is the life force, dragons are sages, and wizards good and evil battle for supremacy. When 23-year-old Ash is thrust into the middle of Fallenwood’s power struggles, she is also forced to face her own inner battles. Life on Earth was hard enough on Ash, who is locked in grief for her stepfather. Now, the fate of Fallenwood rests on her shoulders. She must destroy the Great Crystal—the catalyst for all the land’s magic. As the kingdoms prepare for war, Ash must look inside to find the power to save the world, and herself.

Excerpt:

The dragon’s eyes glowed, for a flickering moment, with white light.

“Ash,” the dragon continued, “Welcome to Terra Illumina…or as it is more commonly known, Fallenwood.” Then a fierce roaring laugh erupted from the stone, as though the dragon thought the new name a joke. “A dark, difficult, dangerous path lies before you, Ash Kensington.”  

Ash’s heart grew heavy. In truth, she knew that she was destined to some terrible, dark fate. For so long, her life was filled with sadness and doubt, and one horrible thing after another. What else can I hope for?

 “But Ash, you must not lose hope. Our world needs you..."

About the author:

Leslie Soule lives in Sacramento, California. Fallenwood is her first fantasy novel. She has received her B.A. in English from Sacramento State University and is currently working on her Master’s degree in English at National University.

Website: http://www.lesliesoule.com/