Spotlight & Giveaway: Daughter of the Wind by Nora Carmody

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Nora Carmody to HJ!

Hi Nora and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Daughter of the Wind!

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Daughter of the Wind is about a young woman who’s supposed to be the future queen of her people, but she has never been able to access the earth magic that should be her birthright. When she suddenly manifests a dangerous wind power in the middle of a war, it gives her people hope—but it comes at the cost of the one thing she can’t bear to lose: her bond with her horse.

To save her people, she agrees to marry the enemy’s emperor, only to discover there’s a much darker threat growing inside the palace. As she’s drawn into a forbidden connection with the enemy commander sworn to guard her, she realizes she may be the only one who can stop what’s coming—if the cost doesn’t destroy her first.
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

“Sometimes we are asked to make a sacrifice that will destroy us…but we must choose it anyway.”

It’s my favorite line because it reflects the central theme of the story: what you’re willing to give up for the people you love.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• The idea for Daughter of the Wind started with one question: what if a people who were psychically bonded to their horses were at war with an empire of eagle riders?
•  I grew up riding and competing on an Arabian mare, and that real-life bond heavily inspired Zara and her relationship with her horse.
•  The giant eagles in the book were inspired by my love of epic fantasy, and especially the giant eagles in LOTR
• The elemental magic in the book is inspired by anime I watched as a teen—like Naruto
• The romance is a true slow burn, built on tension, loyalty, and impossible choices rather than instant attraction.
• The story combines enemies-to-lovers, forbidden romance, and forced proximity, all layered into a world where the bond between rider and animal is just as powerful as the romance.

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

Talon is first struck by Zara’s strength—she’s nothing like what he expected from the enemy. Even when she’s vulnerable, she refuses to break, and that draws him in before he even realizes it.

For Zara, it’s more complicated. She sees Talon as the enemy at first, but what unsettles her is that he doesn’t treat her like one. There’s a steadiness to him, a sense of honor, that makes her start to question everything she thought she knew.

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

This is one of those blush-worthy scenes where the main characters, Zara and Talon, are just starting to realize they’re fighting a losing battle against their feelings for each other, and the moment is heightened by going for a flight on Talon’s eagle high above the mountains.

“Are you all right?” Talon asked, leaning forward so I could hear him. The air around us was frigid, but he radiated warmth.

“The view just makes it a little hard to breathe. It’s all so beautiful.”

“That’s not just the view,” he said and made a gesture with his hand, catching Neo’s eye. “The mountain air is thin. I’m going to have Neo fly lower because you aren’t used to it.”

“Is that why I feel so dizzy?” I asked with a laugh that was lost on the breeze.

Neo dropped altitude then, and it felt like I left my stomach behind somewhere in the sky above us. Immediately afterward, though, I could take a deeper breath than I had before, and as the oxygen reached my brain, I realized just how much I’d been lacking in air.

“Better?” Talon whispered in my ear, his lips brushing my skin. His deep voice sent a thrill through me, and all I could do was nod.

I turned to glance up at him, and his gaze met mine, and the way those bright blue eyes reflected the sky around us captivated me. They dropped to my lips, and heat rose in my cheeks. I could feel his heart beating strongly through my back. I had to tear my gaze away.

Why did I feel so safe with this man? He was cousin to the Emperor who had allied himself with a monster, and yet, even in this cold environment, warmth flooded me anytime his gaze met mine.

Readers should read this book….

Readers should read this book if they love enemies-to-lovers romantasy, slow-burn tension, elemental magic set against a war-torn land, and stories where the bond between a girl and her horse is just as powerful as the romance.

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

Daughter of the Wind is the first book in the Riders of Earth and Sky trilogy. I’m currently working on Book 2, Heiress of Storms, where Zara and Talon’s journey continues with even higher stakes, deeper magic, and a romance that only becomes more complicated. Zara will be forced to decide what she’s willing to sacrifice to stop what’s coming.
 
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: A finished copy of DAUGHTER OF THE WIND by Nora Carmody

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Raffl form and Post a comment to this Q: What about this book has caught your attention?

Book Info:

Zara has never felt worthy of her title as First Daughter. Though next in line to lead her people, she hasn’t inherited what matters most—her mother’s sacred earth magic. While her people are tied to the land and their soul-bound horses, Zara has always felt a pull toward the wind.

As war rages against the enemy empire’s deadly Eagle Riders, her people edge closer to defeat. When a rider attacks Zara herself, she unleashes a wind magic strong enough to tear giant eagles from the sky. This power could turn the tide of the war—but at a terrible price: the slow unraveling of her psychic bond with her horse.

So when a marriage treaty is offered in exchange for peace, Zara agrees, sacrificing herself to protect her people. But the emperor’s palace is more treacherous than any battlefield. Hidden behind its gilded walls is a monstrous being long buried—and her power-hungry betrothed is determined to set it free.

Sworn to protect the future empress, Commander Talon soon realizes Zara is more than a political pawn—she’s the key to stopping the emperor’s dark ambitions. As their forbidden desire grows, they must face an ancient evil stirring beneath the throne. Even if it costs them everything.
 
 

Meet the Author:

Nora Carmody lives in South Carolina with her husband and six kids. Before she became an author, Nora worked as a psychotherapist. An avid horsewoman, she grew up riding and competing on her Arabian mare. Her horse riding days may be over, but she’s still a horse girl at heart! When she’s not writing or spending time with her family, Nora takes care of a constantly growing menagerie of pets, including (but not limited to) two dogs, four cats, eleven chickens, and a bearded dragon.