The Night River: The Foxfires Trilogy, Book Three
GENRE: YA fantasy adventure
RELEASE DAY: SATURDAY DECEMBER 19TH 2020
Enter a frozen world of brutal beauty, where Spirits roam, nights last for months, and magic is wrought by the beat of a drum…
As the light returns, darkness will fall...
Spring is coming to the Northlands, but even as winter fades, an icy terror spreads. The three Worlds are on the brink of collapse, and ancient monsters rise from the earth, their wicked eyes set firmly on the mages.
Tuomas, still reeling from his defiance of the Great Bear Spirit, must finally face the reality of who he is. Mihka is furious with him, Elin refuses to speak to him, and the people do not trust him. As the villagers drive the reindeer back into the south to safety, he must set out with Lumi one final time to right his wrongs and keep the Worlds from falling apart.
But this quest shall bring the greatest test of all, for it will take him into the Deathlands: a place where no living person has ever stood...
Preorder links: AMAZON US | AMAZON UK
Beginning December 19th (and including pre-orders of The Night River) 10% of royalties from the sale of each book in the Foxfires Trilogy will be donated to Adopt a Reindeer Foundation, to support the indigenous Arctic Sami people and help their traditional way of life to thrive.
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GUEST POST
When I was a kid, I was sometimes called Matilda, because I always had my nose stuck in a book and loved to learn. That thirst for knowledge has carried over to adulthood, and I put it to good use in everything I write. I can spend years researching for a story, not only to feed my inspiration and get details correct, but also so my confidence can grow and allow itself to be felt in the writing.
The Foxfires Trilogy was no exception. As well as calling on my own first-hand experiences (including archery, bushcraft, shamanism and living in the Arctic), here are some of the research titbits I used to bring the Northlands to life.
Indigenous culture
While the people of my story are not any particular group, and aren’t intended to represent any real groups, I dived head-first into research about the various Arctic cultures from our own world. Among these were the Inuit, Nenets, Eveny and Sami. The latter group were particularly close to my heart, since I have several Sami friends, and living in Finnish Lapland allowed me to experience their beautiful way of life.
Sami joiks
In this story, the soundscape is just as important as the landscape. Magic is channelled through drumbeats and the singing voice. Many indigenous groups have their own unique forms of music, but for me, the greatest inspiration came once again from the Sami. Joiks are a type of wordless chant which invoke the essence of whatever the performer wishes to honour, be it a place, person, memory, animal, or anything you can think of. They are extremely personal and not ‘songs’ in the traditional sense. I learned how to joik in Lapland and listened to many joik artists while writing the series, so whenever my characters chant, I imagine it sounding similar to that.
Animal behaviour
Here, I was particularly fortunate, since my academic background is in this very subject and I specialised in marine and polar topics. However, nothing was more invaluable than the visits I made to an Arctic reindeer park and the conversations with the herders. I learned so much about these beautiful animals that I had to really stop myself from over-describing everything whenever they showed up in the story!
Classic Nordic literature
As well as indigenous culture, the trilogy also acts as something of a love letter to other stories from the Nordic countries: the Poetic Edda, Prose Edda and Kalevala. The Night River in particular draws heavy influence from these, with the book itself being named after a detail which my Finnish friends will recognise! In the Kalevala, the River of Tuoni is the boundary of Tuonela: the realm of the dead, is filled with the weapons of men and needles of women, and can only be crossed with the help of a female ferryman.
Arctic mythology
In addition to most famously appearing as Yggdrasil in Norse mythology, the concept of a world tree can be found across many ancient belief systems. Among these is Finnish paganism, which also featured bear worship: an inspiration for the Great Bear Spirit in the trilogy. And, of course, we can’t forget my greatest mythological muse: the Finnish legend of the northern lights. According to legend, they are made when a magical fox runs across the tundra, sweeping the snow with its tail.
He went to step aside so Lumi could get in the boat first, but a sudden movement from the Ferry Spirit made him turn. She had held up a grey hand.
“No, Tuomas Sun-Soul. The White Fox One must remain here.”
“What?” Tuomas cried. “Why?”
“Because she is a true Spirit, not alive nor dead, and never to be alive or dead. You and your friends have a special condition, and the order of the Great Bear. But not your sister. She must stay.”
Panic wrapped itself around Tuomas’s chest. Go into the Deathlands without Lumi? She was more than capable of taking care of herself, but the idea of leaving her behind tore at him like claws.
Lumi’s ears twitched, but she lowered her head in submission.
“If that is your bidding, Ferry One, I will honour it,” she said.
“Lumi!” Tuomas hissed.
“This is not my domain – I must respect and defer to the Spirits who govern it,” she replied firmly. “The Horse-Riding One would never trespass on me in the World Above, so I extend the same courtesy to him. Besides, this was never my mission. You and Aki must do this; I am only here to help you close the gateways.”
The Ferry Spirit moved the boat closer. Now only a short stretch of black water stood between the prow and their feet.
Tuomas turned to Elin. Her face was almost as white as Lumi’s.
“You don’t have to come.”
His words snapped her out of it like a spark catching dry tinder.
“What did I say before we jumped?” she snapped. “I’m with you every step of the way. You don’t need to ask me. Of course I’m coming.”
Before Tuomas could speak again, she strode past him and leapt the short distance into the boat. It wobbled under her weight, but the Spirit counterbalanced it perfectly.
Tuomas shot Lumi an apologetic grimace, but she only motioned for him to follow Elin. So, holding his breath to keep himself from shaking, he lifted Aki over the water, then followed. Aki grasped him around the waist and held him so tightly, he thought his ribs might crack.
Without another sound, the Ferry Spirit turned the boat and pushed off. The River churned at the movement, each wave and ripple merging with its neighbour, as though it was a giant liquid lung drawing breath in and out.
Tuomas looked over his shoulder at Lumi. Already she seemed so far away: a single glowing white figure among miles of monochrome desert – and it suddenly struck him that he’d just crossed a barrier which even she was powerless to save him from.
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