Shaman's Drum - an interview with Riga and Iamo

Today on my blog: A character interview! ~drum roll~

Meet Iamo and Riga from the highly entertaining futuristic fantasy romance, Shaman's Drum by Ailsa Abraham. Shaman's Drum delves into the world of darkness, where demons threaten to take over. Two lovers from opposite sides of the energy spectrum unite in their fight against the dark forces.

Meet Riga & Iamo!

1) Riga, you're one feisty female. Your fighting skills are renowned. How do you reconcile the 'tough girl' image with your softer side?

To be honest, Cathie, I didn't think I had one until I started having feelings for Iamo. Yes back in my teens I had a hopeless crush on someone very unsuitable but it came to nothing. After that I just decided to concentrate on my career.
For a long time I found myself very uncomfortable with my feminine side. It is a cliché because it is true but when you meet a man that makes you feel like a real woman, then you live up to that.
My tough girl image was the real me at the time, it went with the job of magical assassin. Face it, in the magical world I am the equivalent of your SAS soldiers and they don't tend to paint their nails, do they? Image counts a lot because the first impression I make on an enemy can usually decide the outcome of the fight. If he or she is taken off their guard by the sight of me in my fighting gear, twirling ceramic knives or casting fireballs, the battle is just about won before it starts.

2) Iamo, you're the thinker. The calm one, ruffled by nothing. What infuriates
you?
Riga! No excuse me, Lady. That was flippant. It's a good question. I am by no means that placid. At the beginning of the book I think that what infuriates me is the Council of the Wise's hidebound attitude. They have placed rules written in stone and nothing is flexible but as we learn throughout the novel, all of life is flux. Even I change!
Also the ingrained snobbery of my parents, which again is an attitude of stasis; that could be what drove me away from home in the first place.
Now, after that particular tale is over, I think it is intolerance that infuriates me. People treat me differently according to whether they think I am an earl, a monk or wearing the face paint of a Black Shaman. That is shameful and should not happen. I wish we could all meet each other blindfold the first time and then decide if we can get along.

3) Riga, what makes you and Iamo such a dream team in fighting evil?
Again, I apologise (but I am a simple magic user, not a conjurer of words like our Scribe) it is a cliché. We are, or perhaps were, exact opposites. That means that we think differently, approach problems from a different perspective and have natures that are two sides of the same coin. If you can imagine in your human terms an artist and a mathematician given the same problem to solve, they might come up with the same answer, but their methods of doing so would be radically different.
Also we have telepathy on our side. We are natural empaths through our magic which is a great advantage in an actual fight. We communicate mentally so that if one of us notices a danger or an enemy who is hidden visually from the other, we can send a “check that” message instantly. Also, as everyone knows, those who love each other so very deeply can usually pick up on each others' thoughts.

4) Iamo, without revealing the ending of Shaman's Drum - where do you and Riga go from there?
I am under strict instructions from Scribe not to reveal too much but, as she admits, there is a great deal of back history to Shaman's Drum at which she only hints during that book so she is in the process of writing the prequel which explains the situation leading up to the beginning of it.
She is doing this in response to the many kindly readers who have contacted her to ask for the prequel as they felt that Shaman's Drum could have been Book II instead of Book I. After that she intends to continue our adventures and she has placed a spell of constraint on me so that if I tried to tell you the plot of Book III, I would probably lose my voice for a week, but yes, there will be more.

May we both thank you, Lady, for inviting us to your home today and say that Scribe would like to offer an electronic copy of Shaman's Drum in a draw. The question she poses is:

“The Spring Equinox is nearly upon us. What is the Wiccan name for this festival?”

A winner will be drawn from the correct answers and a copy of the ebook is the prize.

~~~

Blurb:

England in the near future.

Mainstream religions have been outlawed, and the old gods rule again.

Iamo has been a priest of the Great Mother and is sworn to celibacy, but his love for Riga, a Black Shaman, a magical assassin, caused him to break his vows. After being imprisoned apart from each other for three years, Iamo accepts an offer to earn them both a pardon and the possibility of marriage. If they survive.

Iamo and Riga must discover why demons are breaking through from the other side. Which of the cults are renegades who allow the demons through? Who can they trust?

Combining their powers, they face the ordeal with the help of a band of eclectic pagans, spirit creatures, Riga's Black Shaman brothers, an undercover Christian granny, and three unusually energetic Goths.

It's a tough assignment, but the hope of a life together keeps them fighting.

~~~

Excerpt:

The Demon Prince held up one gauntleted hand to swat away my missile, completely unperturbed. He smiled evilly, his face squirming with larvae and his fangs dripping slime, as he sent me images of him taking my beloved; in a perverted parody of our own love-making he made me see Iamo writhing and screaming under him as he was raped and
robbed of his soul.

This is how higher demons fight; why they win. They choose the image that will sap the target’s strength the most, the wicked, clever bastards! All I could do was fix my own picture in my head of Iamo and me, standing back to back, ready to fight or die to prevent this happening. The screaming from the Prince’s sending stopped as Iamo shouted at me from the altar where Elrich was bending over him, gloating and stroking his hair.

“Riga! Release me! Break the bonds!”

Reeling back from the shock of that hateful image and dodging a fireball, I pointed my wand at Iamo and tried to dissolve the oily black lines of dark energy that tied him to the altar. My silver light entwined with them and it looked like two cobras fighting. He struggled, tearing at the bonds. Of course he would have been under a disempowerment spell too.

Knowing that this was costing me valuable time, I took a breath and forced all the power of our love at him to break it. In doing so, I took my attention away from the lesser demons and priestesses who were sending snakes of energy towards me to suck my soul away.

The Dianics were casting immobility on me and a paralysis began to creep up my legs. Looking down, I could see their spell like live vipers twining up towards my knees. Still trying to free Iamo, I let my lower half get caught. With a cry of triumph, he finally rolled off the altar and sprang to his feet, grabbing the High Priestess’ staff of office and wielding it like a fighting stick. His first victim was Elrich who he punched on the jaw so hard that the fat priest fell to the ground with an audible thud.

Then, holding it like a club, he hit the High Priestess over the head, knocking her out; there was no magic, just brute force in that blow. He ran towards the demon as I directed power to untangle my legs and force the disabling energy field back. I couldn’t feel my feet, as the women blanketed me in a fog of negative energy, trying to suffocate my power. A sensation of total hopelessness smothered me and I had an almost irresistible urge to give up.

Suddenly, through the noise and turmoil, the sound of drums reverberated through the building like an impending earthquake. My Shaman brethren had arrived!

~~~