Ill-Made Mute

The Ill-Made Mute is the first in Cecilia Dart-Thornton‘s Bitterbynde trilogy, which has recently been republished in eBook by Open Road Media. Here’s the synopsis:

In a dark and perilous realm, an outcast without a name or a memory seeks a voice, a past, and a future in the fir1st installment of a modern classic fantasy trilogy

In all of Erith, there is perhaps no one as wretched as the nameless mute foundling confined to the lowest depths of Isse Tower. Abused by many and despised by all, the pathetic creature lives without memories in the shadows. The amnesiac longs to escape — to roam the wild landscape in search of a past, a name, a destiny — but dangers surround the tower. Only flying ships and majestic winged horses carrying important visitors can reach the castle safely, landing high above the ground on its battlements. The local servants whisper about malevolent creatures that roam the forests and bear no love for humankind. Escape seems impossible in this treacherous world of wights and monsters.

Open Road Media have also published the other two novels in the series: The Lady of Sorrows and The Battle of Evernight. For more on the series, check out CR’s interview with Cecilia Dart-Thornton on Wednesday.

Read on for an excerpt from The Ill-Made Mute. Continue reading →

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Cecilia Dart-Thornton?

I was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia and graduated from university with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology. I became a schoolteacher after leaving university. Over the years my hobbies have included painting in oils, tapestry, clay sculpting, performing in folk music bands, and growing heritage fruit. I am a keen supporter of animal rights and wilderness conservation.

I became a full-time writer in 2000 after my work was discovered on the Internet and published by Time Warner (New York). My books are published around the world and have been translated into several languages.

Your Bitterbynde Trilogy will be published by Open Road Media this month. It looks rather interesting: How would you introduce it to a potential reader?

The Bitterbynde is a fantasy trilogy that comprises The Ill-Made Mute, The Lady of the Sorrows, and The Battle of Evernight. The story opens with readers seeing through the eyes of a deformed mute with no memory. This foundling resolves to seek a cure for the deformities and the amnesia. Meanwhile a strange world unfolds on every side. The world is populated with — nay, teeming with — ‘eldritch wights’. These are supernatural creatures whose nature ranges from friendly (‘seelie’) to mischievous (‘tricksy’) to downright dangerous (‘unseelie’). They come in all shapes and sizes and may be monstrously ugly or spellbindingly beautiful. Their looks have no correlation with their inclinations. Continue reading →