Spotlight & Giveaway: The Valkyrie’s Shadow by Tiana Warner

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Tiana Warner to HJ!

Hi Tiana and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, The Valkyrie’s Shadow!

Thank you for having me, and hello to your lovely readers!
 

Please summarize the book a la Twitter style for the readers here:

The Valkyrie’s Shadow is a YA Sapphic Fantasy about valkyries, who are warrior women on horseback. In this sequel to The Valkyrie’s Daughter, Sigrid rises to the challenge of being a leader on Sleipnir, the eight-legged war horse descended from Loki. But the way his power affects her threatens to destroy her friendships, her relationship with Mariam, and much more.
 

Please share the opening lines of this book:

Standing on the brink of darkness, Sigrid tightened her grip on the reins, the leather digging through her riding gloves. The path into Svartalfheim was not so much an entrance as a wall of
night. Life, light, and sound just seemed to…end.
An illusion.
An entire world existed beyond this veil.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• Everything we know about Norse mythology comes from one tiny collection of surviving poems called the Edda. Everything else is an interpretation, even the idea that valkyries ride winged horses. The vast unknowns left a lot of room for creative liberties when writing this story, which made it a lot of fun.
• A lot of Norse gods were genderfluid/queer, and this and other historical facts tell us that Viking society was probably more flexible about sexuality than medieval historians led us to believe. Full steam ahead on the sapphic romance!
• My inspiration for writing Sleipnir, Odin’s eight-legged stallion, is a breed of horse called the Friesian.
• Sigrid’s horse’s name is “Hestur”, which just means “horse” – playing up the idea that he’s the most ordinary of all horses.

What first attracts your main characters to each other?

Vulnerability and trust play a huge part in their connection. While the heroines start off hating each other in the first book of the trilogy, they bond over how much they need each other and slowly build mutual trust.
 

Using just 5 words, how would you describe your main characters”love affair?

Fiery, pure, sweet, first crush.
 

The First Kiss…

Happens in a moment of great emotional turmoil, where Sigrid is forced to make one of the toughest choices of her life.

Without revealing too much, what is your favorite scene in the book?

I like the moments where Sigrid struggles with the way Sleipnir’s power affects her, and how this affects her relationships. She needs Mariam more than ever.

Sigrid raised her spear, ready to throw it. Hopefully, her aim was good enough.
But before she could pull her arm back, someone crashed into her from the side, knocking her off-balance so she nearly fell to the ground. She shrieked, rounding on her attacker with her spear up.
It was Mariam.
“Sigrid, stop it!” She grabbed hold of the spear and Sigrid. “You’re going to get an innocent person killed.”

If your book was optioned for a movie, what scene would be absolutely crucial to include?

Any of the little moments between Sigrid and Mariam! Sigrid needs her girlfriend’s support more than ever in this book.

Mariam sighed, placing her palm against Sigrid’s and moving their fingers so they all lined up. “You’re good at keeping secrets, Sigrid. I just wonder how many of them you have.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sigrid asked.
“Tell me what you’re thinking. Why are you afraid of getting on Sleipnir?”
Sigrid’s mouth went dry. She studied their hands, grinding her teeth. Finally, without looking at Mariam, she said, “I’m afraid of who I become when I’m on him.”
“You’re afraid you’ll end up like your mother,” Mariam said, and the words came so easily that Sigrid wondered if she’d already known the reason.
The words struck so close to Sigrid’s heart that tears sprang to her eyes. She averted her gaze to a tangle of spare reins hanging on the wall.
Mariam stepped closer until her breath tickled Sigrid’s lips. “Sigrid, you aren’t at all like her.”
“You know that’s not true. You can’t look at my eyes, my face, even the shade of my hair, and tell me I’m nothing like her.”
“I mean inside.” Mariam placed a hand on Sigrid’s neck. “You’re a much better person.”
At this gentle touch, Sigrid’s heart thrummed so strongly that she was sure Mariam would feel her racing pulse. A pleasant shiver ran through her and settled in her belly.
“Thanks.”
Mariam’s fingers lingered on her skin, leaving hot trails along her neck, ear, and cheek.
Sigrid clasped her hand around Mariam’s and brought it to her lips, vaguely aware that Mariam was asking her something.

Readers should read this book …

If you like stories about warrior women on horseback and a soft sapphic romance.

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have planned?

I’m working on the third and final book in this valkyrie series! I also have more sapphic romances coming soon, including THE ROAD TRIP AGREEMENT, launching in August with Ylva Publishing.

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway:  A $10 Amazon gift card

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: You are a valkyrie warrior riding a noble winged horse into battle against the sinister world of Svartalfheim. What’s your horse’s name?

 
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Excerpt from The Valkyrie’s Shadow:

Mariam walked closer, a mischievous smile on her lips. She reached up, brushing her fingers from Sigrid’s temple to the back of her head.
Sigrid’s breath hitched as the sensation of Mariam’s fingers ran all the way down her body.
Why had they been wasting time talking about Queen Kaia? She was finally alone with Mariam, and she could finally kiss her again.
Her heart flipped over. The blazing way Mariam was looking at her was enough to weaken her knees.
“I’ve dreamt of you every night since you left,” Sigrid said, barely a whisper.
Mariam cast Sigrid a devastatingly beautiful smile. “Same.”
Sigrid reached out, sliding a hand around Mariam’s waist. Her lips tingled. She could spend all day here, watching the way Mariam’s cheeks rose when she smiled, memorizing each freckle dusting her nose.
She leaned in, eager for the feel of Mariam’s body against hers, craving the taste of her again.
Something rustled in the woods. Hestur perked his ears and looked sharply through the trees, tensing.
Sigrid spun toward the sound, her heart skipping. Someone found us.
“Just me!” Fisk called out.
Sigrid relaxed her shoulders—and then immediately regretted not kissing Mariam when she had the chance. She cast Mariam a look that she hoped conveyed the absolute agony going on inside her right now.
Mariam sighed. “He came back faster than I expected,” she whispered, and without wasting a second, she tugged Sigrid behind the oak tree and kissed her.
The suddenness caught Sigrid off guard, and her hands moved to Mariam’s face before her brain caught up. She pressed closer and opened her lips, a rush of heat dancing through her body.
The kiss was urgent, the culmination of weeks of waiting. Mariam’s lips were soft and plump, her taste as sweet as fruit. Her warm skin was as smooth as Sigrid remembered, her muscles strong beneath it.
There was a crunch, and twigs snapped on the other side of the tree, and Mariam let go as quickly as she’d grabbed her.
They broke apart, breathless. Sigrid’s lips tingled and her belly fluttered like a winged mare was doing barrel rolls inside her.
Mariam stepped out from behind the tree. “Hey, Fisk.”
“I managed a decent breakfast,” Fisk said. “Oh, hi, Sigrid! Wow, I like your hair. Neat pattern.”
“Hi.” She forced her gaze away from Mariam’s freshly kissed lips, blazing dark eyes, and tousled braid.
Fisk opened his rucksack and extracted two apples, two potatoes, and several eggs. “We decided to take food from a nearby farm. I know it’s wrong, but we don’t have much choice— oh, no.” He looked into the bag, slumping. “One of the eggs broke.”

Excerpts. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Being both a valkyrie and a princess isn’t turning out quite the way Sigrid imagined. The other valkyries still treat her like a stable hand. Her relationship with Mariam is less “long-distance” and more “worlds apart.” And lately, she’s been wondering if Sleipnir, her new horse, isn’t making her a little bit…well, evil.

But Sigrid’s first official valkyrie mission sends ripples through the Nine Worlds. She’s attracted the wrath of not only the Night Elves but their sinister king, who wants nothing more than to bring darkness down on everyone. Worse yet, Loki might just be interfering with the balance of light and dark…

When war threatens the shores of Vanaheim and her friends are in danger of being exiled, Sigrid makes a deal with the new queen. She will ride Sleipnir against their enemies and use his might to defeat them, even as he pulls her closer to that line between good and evil.
Book Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Goodreads |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Tiana Warner is a #1 Amazon Bestselling Author whose books have been featured on BuzzFeed, Gizmodo, Paste Magazine, Tor, Book Riot, Foreword Reviews, and more. She is the winner of the Best Indie Book Award, the Dante Rossetti Awards, and Sequential Magazine’s Favourite Writer Award. Her works have been optioned for film and TV.

Tiana is a bisexual author who mainly writes sapphic fiction. Her books include the critically acclaimed, Amazon bestselling series, Mermaids of Eriana Kwai and its graphic novel adaptation, as well as The Valkyrie’s Daughter (Entangled Teen), and several lesbian romance novels with Ylva Publishing.

Born and raised in British Columbia, Canada, Tiana is a former programmer with a Computer Science degree, a lifelong horseback rider, and an outdoor enthusiast who loves to explore BC with her hyperactive rescue mutt, Joey.
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