Today I have the pleasure of having with me my dear friends and fellow authors Aimee and David Thurlo who are here to share with us the inspiration for their latest Harlequin Intrigue, POWER OF THE RAVEN. Please welcome Aimee and David and also, check out the cool giveaway they have going on to celebrate their new release. For more information, you can visit David and Aimee at www.aimeeanddavidthurlo.com.

POWER OF THE RAVEN

When you write stories that focus on places and the people who live in them, as we do with our novels about the southwest, people often want to know how we get ideas for the next book.

Our February release for Harlequin Intrigue, “Power of the Raven,” is a story that came to us when we were walking around Old Town in Albuquerque and saw a small, beautifully carved fetish in a storefront window and stopped to admire it. According to tradition, a fetish is more than just a carving. It’s a symbol that is said to capture the essence of the animal and impart those qualities to its owner.

Out of that moment came a storyline about a hataalii, a Navajo medicine man, Hosteen (mister) Silver, who fosters troubled Navajo boys, giving them a new life and future. On their sixteen birthday, each of the boys receives a gift – a special fetish carved for them. Gene Redhouse, the hero of Power of the Raven, carries a bear fetish. A bear fits Gene because bear’s power is made strong in solitude. Though Bear has a dark side, he also stands for confidence and inner stillness.

“Power of the Raven” centers around Gene, now a man, on a path that will test the limits of his courage.

I’ve always had a special affinity for animals, and the lore that surrounds each fetish is something I find particularly fascinating. One of my favorites is Raven.

Raven’s magic brings the power needed to take your dreams, give them time to form, then make them a reality. Raven belongs to the inner world, that place where we protect the part of us that’s often injured by the sting of rejection. Raven becomes a powerful ally who encourages us to embrace the shadows because they’re also part of who we are.

I find that especially beautiful, because as authors we have to dig into memories of pain as well as triumphs to make our characters come alive. The process can be difficult and leaves you feeling vulnerable at a time when you most need to protect yourself. Not everyone will see what you want to do in the story you create and the words you use to do it. There will be harsh comments, and judgments. You have to be able to take the blows, smile, and keep going. It can hurt – badly – but like a famous teacher once said, ‘It doesn’t matter how many times you fall down – only how many times you get back up.”

Each of the Copper Canyon stories will feature a hero and heroine who has, or will receive, a very special fetish in the course of the book. As the characters learn about their new spiritual brother, the reader will go on their journey with them, and maybe some will find their own fetish – an animal carving that will remind you of your own uniqueness, and the power that resides in each of us.

To celebrate its publicaton we’re having a very special giveaway – a handcarved raven fetish signed by the artist, Amos Pooacha. Mr. Pooacha is confined to a wheelchair and makes his living carving these very special fetishes.

Please write me at ADThurlo at aol dot com, specify you want to enter our drawing, then Feb. 29th we’ll announce the winner on our web page, and of course, that person will immediately notified via e-mail.