Hiya peeps, Serena Yates pops in again today to give us some more details about her upcoming release Eye of Scota. We have a brilliant guest post and a brand new excerpt fro the book, so enjoy out the post and enjoy! <3 ~Pixie~
Eye of Scota
Serena Yates
In 845 a group of Gaels fleeing the Vikings stumbled through the mystic Eye of Scota and found safety on a planet they named Dalriata. Seven centuries later, the arrival of the Crìosdaidh religion changed everything. Fugitives stopped appearing, and the newly established Council of Priests used the energy of Slànach Stones to enforce their religious laws. But by 2500 the Stones’ power is dwindling. The High Priest is desperate—none of the warriors sent to find more Stones have returned.
Cináed MacAlpin, a young healer priest, is chosen to undertake another attempt. He hopes that new Stones will reduce the pressure to heal only those deemed worthy by the priests. But his task is not easy. Cináed must travel to the land of Bunádh and find the Eye that is the source of the Stones. Once there he meets Tadeo Banderas, a spaceship captain exploring the newest Earth-like planet discovered by the Solar Exploration Fleet. Cináed and Tadeo soon find out that the spark of energy between them may hold the key to Dalriata’s future.
1st Edition published by Dreamspinner Press, 2010.
Guest post
Hi! I’m Serena Yates and I’m very excited to be back on MM Good Book Reviews with some more information about my upcoming book release – Eye of Scota. It’s the first book in a science fiction trilogy set in the 26th century on a planet first settled by humans in the 9th century. Sounds crazy? Well, as far as we know this never happened, but I’ve always wondered what would have happened if the Gaels had had a way to escape the invaders.
Then, as I was doing research that really had nothing to do with the Gaels, I came across the legend of Scota. Apparently Scota (in Irish mythology, Scottish mythology, and pseudohistory) is the name given to two different mythological daughters of two different Egyptian Pharaohs to whom the Gaels traced their ancestry. Supposedly both of them ended up leaving Egypt and traveling to Ireland where they merged with the locals and created a new culture. Now that was a starting point for some alternate history creation I could work with. Of course I took many liberties with the original legend to create this new world of the Dalriata stories, but this is where it all originated.
So, in my version of reality, the Gaels found the Eye of Scota and discovered they could use it to escape the Vikings—and later the English—who invaded what is today called Scotland. The details of how this happened are lost in history for now, but I plan to revisit those events in the final book of the trilogy. This first book focuses on what happened to the people who settled Dalriata, how the invasion of Crìosdaidh (Christian) missionaries influenced their cultural development, and how all of that changes when technology allows the humans of Earth to “discover” Dalriata by using spaceships in the 26th century.
Eye of Scota is an action/adventure, a quest for answers to age-old questions, and a romance between one of Dalriata’s healer priests and a starship captain. Together they begin to unravel some of the mysteries of the past, discover the mysterious gateway is not at all what they expected, and find a solution to Dalriata’s problem of Slànach Stones no longer working.
I am currently working on finishing the second book of the series, called The Compass of Mil, which will hopefully be published early next year.
Excerpt!
This is from chapter 2, right after Captain Tadeo Banderas has been demoted from the Economic Unit of the Solar Exploration Fleet (SEF) to the exploratory branch. The excerpt with his trial can be found right here on MM Good Book Reviews: https://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com/2016/02/29/eye-of-scota-by-serena-yates-cover-reveal-excerpt-giveaway/.
“We’re going where?” Jerzy Podmore, his new first officer, looked at Tadeo with undisguised shock in his bright green eyes. His dark red hair was short enough to pass inspection, but remarkably unkempt for an officer of his seniority. Tadeo liked that about the man. He’d never found it easy to get along with those who slavishly followed rules and regulations. He’d much rather work with people who’d retained some of their personality as well as an ability to think independently. He’d found that often saved lives in a crisis.
“You heard me. The Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy is the SEF’s next major project for exploration, and we are to study it for future colonization. With around a billion stars to choose from, we should be able to discover something of interest.” Tadeo rubbed his aching temples. His punishment had gone from bad to worse when he’d received his detailed orders to take command of the Valiant and take her for a ten-year exploratory mission to the other end of the galaxy. Hell, their goal was actually outside the galaxy proper, if he wanted to be technical about it. The message from Fleet Command couldn’t have been any clearer if they’d told him in writing that he was now considered an undesirable element.
“But that’s 25,000 light-years from here. That means we’ll be totally out of touch with the rest of the SEF.” Jerzy finally sat back down into the well-padded visitor chair of the captain’s office.
“That’s why we’ll be traveling in a minifleet of ten ships.” Tadeo sighed. It wasn’t much, but at least they’d be able to give each other some assistance in an emergency. “Captain Wasabi of the Maru will be acting admiral, since he’s got seniority.”
“What about crew members with extended families?” Jerzy raised his eyebrows.
According to Jerzy’s file, he wasn’t one of them, but it was the mark of a good first officer to consider the crew’s well-being. Tadeo approved.
“As far as I know, everyone who signed on was aware that they were going out for an extended period of time. Was I misinformed?” He wouldn’t be surprised if Fleet Command had decided to add yet another obstacle to this impossible mission. Why didn’t they just dismiss him if they wanted to get rid of him?
“You weren’t misinformed. But ten years is twice the normal time, so I expect some crew members will have issues.” Jerzy frowned. “They may have their immediate families with them, as is usual for long-term exploratory ships, but that doesn’t solve the problem of contact with other family members.”
“Then we should let them know so they can make their decisions accordingly. If anybody wants to apply for a transfer to another ship, they will have a chance to do so before we leave.” Tadeo shook his head. “I just hope that Fleet Command will be able to come up with replacements on such short notice. We can’t start a mission like this understaffed.”
About Serena
I’m a night owl and start writing when everyone else in my time zone is asleep. I’ve loved reading all my life and spent most of my childhood with my nose buried in a book. Although I always wanted to be a writer, financial independence came first. Twenty-some years and a successful business career later I took some online writing classes and never looked back.
Living and working in seven countries has taught me that there’s more than one way to get things done. It has instilled tremendous respect for the many different cultures, beliefs, attitudes and preferences that exist on our planet.
I like exploring those differences in my stories, most of which happen to be romances. My characters have a tendency to want to do their own thing, so I often have to rein them back in. The one thing we all agree on is the desire for a happy ending.
I currently live in the United Kingdom, sharing my house with a vast collection of books. I like reading, traveling, spending time with my nieces, and listening to classical music. I have a passion for science and learning new languages.
Contact Serena
