ON THE SUBJECT OF GRIFFONS by Lindsey Byrd

Blurb

They’ll do anything to save their children’s lives, even if it means working together.

Kera Montgomery is still mourning the sudden death of her husband, Morpheus, when her youngest son falls victim to a mysterious plague. With no medicinal cure, Kera must travel to the Long Lakes, where magical griffons capable of healing any ailment reside.

As an heiress unused to grueling travel, Kera struggles with the immense emotional and physical strain of her journey—one made more complex when she crosses paths with her husband’s former mistress, Aurora. Aurora’s daughter is afflicted with the same plague as Kera’s son, so despite their incendiary history, the two women agree to set aside their differences and travel together.

The road is fraught with dangers, both living and dead. Each night, old battlegrounds reanimate with ghosts who don’t know they’ve died, and murderous wraiths hunt for stray travelers caught out after dark. If Kera, Aurora, and their children are going to survive, they’ll need to confront the past that’s been haunting them since their journey began. And perhaps in the process, discover that old friends may not be as trustworthy as they once thought—and old enemies may become so much more.

Now available from Riptide Publishing and where ebooks are sold.

Guest Spotlight!

Names

I love naming things. I do. I’ve named everything from my plants, to stuffed animals, to roadkill. (My mother still hasn’t forgiven me for the last one). When it comes to my characters though, I don’t like leaving anything to chance. There are four major characters in On the Subject of Griffons: Kera and Aurora and their children Aiden and Faith. In this blog post I’d like to go over their names and why I chose them for this story.

Kera: Irish in origin, meaning ‘dusky’ or ‘dark’. Her full name is Kerryn which similarly means ‘dusky’ or ‘pure’. As a character, I knew from the start that Kera was going to be a Good Person. Someone who preferred to see the good in people rather than their flaws, and who wasn’t prone to confrontation. She has a certain naivety, and that ‘purity’ is represented in an almost militant desire to not be the source of conflict. This, of course, inadvertently leads her directly to being in conflict.

Conflicts that take place predominantly at night. Throughout the story, the terrors that Kera faces are ones that creep within the shadows. Shadows that she fights against in the attempt to save her son’s life. Despite this mounting terror, her dedication is to her mission and that purity of intent is critical for who she is.

Aurora: Latin in origin, meaning ‘dawn’. I named Kera first and I wanted her partner be the one who breaks through that darkness: shining her way through so Kera never loses sight of her mission.

It’s for a far more simplistic and obvious reason, that Aurora’s daughter is named Faith. Battling through the depression and horror of their journey, Kera’s interactions with Aurora and Faith help solidify her resolve so she can come to terms with not only her own nature, but also who she has the capacity to be. Where there is darkness, there must be light, and as a unit they work well together.

Aiden: Celtic in origin, the name of a sun god, and also meaning ‘fiery’. If Aurora serves as Kera’s guide to not be lost in the shadows, Aiden is very much her purpose of being. Without Aiden, there is no story. Kera would never have left home to search for the griffons, and she never would have met and befriended Aurora and Faith. Together the four of them are a single unit. Light, Dark, Sun, and the Faith that the circle will continue spinning from one to the other. Light casting its shadows, and Dark always reaching for more.

Perhaps the fifth most important character in the story, then, is Kera’s deceased husband. The man who cheated on her with Aurora and then died before the book even began, leaving her in a state of distress and forcing her to leave home to save her child to begin with. His name is Morpheus. The Greek god of dreams, and a ‘beautiful figure’ that Kera never sees again. She doesn’t call him that. Instead, she calls him Mori. Latin. Meaning death.

He is the exact thing Kera wishes to flee from. In the most basic of terms, to save her son she must rescue him from death. To find her own happiness, she must overcome her feelings for her husband. To win: she has to defeat death.  

About Lindsey Byrd

Lindsey Byrd was brought up in upstate, downstate, and western New York. She is a budding historian of law, medieval, and women’s studies and often includes historical anecdotes or references within her works. Lindsey enjoys writing about complex and convoluted issues where finding the moral high-ground can be hard to do. She has a particular love for heroic villains and villainous heroes, as well as inverting and subverting tropes.

Twitter: twitter.com/TheLindseyByrd

Tumblr: tumblr.com/blog/lindseybyrd

Email: thelindseybyrd@gmail.com

Goodreads: goodreads.com/LindseyByrd

Giveaway

To celebrate this release, one lucky person will win a $25 Riptide credit! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on June 1, 2019. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following along, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!