Hello! I am author H.L. Girton. I am guest blogging today and sharing the news about my debut novel and brand new release of The Accalia. I would like to discuss a fun topic in relation to my novel and share some fun facts about The Accalia that you might not have known otherwise from reading the story alone.
When I read books, I like looking for the fun connections or read about some of the author’s playful tactics or hidden eggs in their stories. It always gives the reader a deeper understanding to the author and a glimpse into their thought process in writing their stories. When I began writing The Accalia I just had to have fun with it. One thing I did, and I hope you find the fun in it, is play a little game with the character’s names. I did hours of research and name hunting for my characters that were meaningful to who they were or what their destiny is in the series. I felt like I was looking for a million baby names for the babies I was birthing in the world of The Accalia. For example, Genesis, her name means the beginning. Her character role in The Accalia is the beginning of something new, a change to the shifter world that turns everything they knew upside down. She is a first. A beginning to a new. I hope this little tidbit helps you have some fun with the characters.
Creating characters is never easy. I had struggled with a few to get them portrayed just right in the series. The first character, and most major one, that I struggled with getting right was the hero of the book, Liam. I had a hard time getting his image how I needed him to look. Liam (meaning warrior or protector) needed to come across as intimidating. He needed to be someone that people feared but also someone that could be kind. For weeks I created and deleted characters that were not fitting enough. Then one day when I was grocery shopping (we lived in Alaska at the time) I found myself floored. I stopped walking and was just awestruck. A group of Russian hockey players were walking through the store and I about died. They were giant and they looked like they could start some trouble. Right there and there I knew Liam had to be a Russian. I needed him to give that same feeling I had seeing those hockey players. He needed to tower over people and instill that fear with just a look in his eye.
A last fun fact that would be the title of The Accalia wasn’t always that. I originally had the book titled The Beginning. I was wanting to tie in the heroine’s name to the title. It had to be about her. (Another name play!) But with further research and the more I wrote the story the title just didn’t sit right with me. It didn’t fit. It didn’t have that uniqueness. Not until I came across the name Accalia, meaning She Wolf. I knew instantly that she was going to be their savior, their prophet come to life. The Accalia flowed and fit right in, claiming Genesis in another way. She was their only she wolf. Their Accalia.
There are many more fun fact and hidden eggs. Can you find any from reading the story? More will come as the series goes! I can’t wait to share those too.
When I read books, I like looking for the fun connections or read about some of the author’s playful tactics or hidden eggs in their stories. It always gives the reader a deeper understanding to the author and a glimpse into their thought process in writing their stories. When I began writing The Accalia I just had to have fun with it. One thing I did, and I hope you find the fun in it, is play a little game with the character’s names. I did hours of research and name hunting for my characters that were meaningful to who they were or what their destiny is in the series. I felt like I was looking for a million baby names for the babies I was birthing in the world of The Accalia. For example, Genesis, her name means the beginning. Her character role in The Accalia is the beginning of something new, a change to the shifter world that turns everything they knew upside down. She is a first. A beginning to a new. I hope this little tidbit helps you have some fun with the characters.
Creating characters is never easy. I had struggled with a few to get them portrayed just right in the series. The first character, and most major one, that I struggled with getting right was the hero of the book, Liam. I had a hard time getting his image how I needed him to look. Liam (meaning warrior or protector) needed to come across as intimidating. He needed to be someone that people feared but also someone that could be kind. For weeks I created and deleted characters that were not fitting enough. Then one day when I was grocery shopping (we lived in Alaska at the time) I found myself floored. I stopped walking and was just awestruck. A group of Russian hockey players were walking through the store and I about died. They were giant and they looked like they could start some trouble. Right there and there I knew Liam had to be a Russian. I needed him to give that same feeling I had seeing those hockey players. He needed to tower over people and instill that fear with just a look in his eye.
A last fun fact that would be the title of The Accalia wasn’t always that. I originally had the book titled The Beginning. I was wanting to tie in the heroine’s name to the title. It had to be about her. (Another name play!) But with further research and the more I wrote the story the title just didn’t sit right with me. It didn’t fit. It didn’t have that uniqueness. Not until I came across the name Accalia, meaning She Wolf. I knew instantly that she was going to be their savior, their prophet come to life. The Accalia flowed and fit right in, claiming Genesis in another way. She was their only she wolf. Their Accalia.
There are many more fun fact and hidden eggs. Can you find any from reading the story? More will come as the series goes! I can’t wait to share those too.
The Accalia
The Accalia Series
Book 1
H.L. Girton
Genre: YA paranormal
Date of Publication: Aug 14th
Cover Artist: SK Designs
Tagline: The truth hurts more than secrets and lies
Book Description:
After traveling the country with her aunt, Genesis Berkley finally feels like she is home. Settling in Tillamook, Oregon, she begins a new life and everything seems to be going smoothly. That is, until she runs into a mysterious young man.
The feelings that he awakens are unsettling, and soon, her simple, peaceful world shatters. Lies and secrets are revealed, and danger lurks in every corner.
Now, Genesis must discover if she is strong enough to fulfill her destiny. Will she learn to accept the truth before it is too late.
Excerpt
One:
“Please! I’m not
the Accalia as you all believe. I cannot be her.” I looked around at them,
their eyes locked onto me as I denied their silly prophecy. “I’m not a savior.
I’m not the girl they describe in here. I don’t know how to love like that. I
don’t have the power or strength to stop whatever it is the Accalia’s meant to
stop. I’m just me. I am just a normal girl who graduated high school a few
weeks ago. I’m sorry, but I’m not who you think I am.”
I was
apologetic, but firm. I couldn’t be what they wanted me to be. I just wasn’t
that girl. The only love I had ever known was the love I had for Aunt Cammie,
and until I met Madeline, I hadn’t loved a friend before. They expected me to
be this all powerful, unconditional loving, Accalia, but I was nobody.
“You are the
Accalia, Genesis, and you will come to realize the importance of it in time.
You are also my daughter and both roles come with responsibilities and
expectations.”
About the Author:
Heather Girton has been a creative writer since her childhood, writing creative stories and poems for the love of imagination and literacy. It started out as an outlet for personal struggles and a way to cope with them through fictional fantasy and turned into a passion and need to share her aspirations with the world. It wasn’t until 2013 that she decided to share her talent through fictional novels due to the encouragement from her family and friends.
Since graduating high school in 2006, Heather has spent the last eleven years being a dedicated mother and military spouse. In that time she nurtured a family of four children all while traveling the country following her husband’s career. She spent the last five years working towards her Bachelors of Arts in Psychology with a Minor in Sociology. She has done volunteer work with grief support organizations gaining experience with her field of study.
Currently Heather lives in Texas with her husband, children, support dog, and lazy cat. She is an avid reader and loves it as much as she adores writing. She spends her free time sharing her devotion for it with her children. When she isn’t reading, writing or focusing on her family, Heather has a personal admiration for photography.
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