ABOUT THE BOOK
When the world collapses from a Golden Age into one of chaos and strife, mankind’s salvation lies in the hands of eternal Emissaries― guardians chosen to protect the secrets of a sacred, ancient civilization and to guide humanity back to enlightenment even as its darkest hour approaches.
A timeless tale of love reborn through the ages.
Marcus and Theron are two lovers bound by an eternal and unshakable bond. As a series of catastrophic events nearly destroys their world, the two along with a chosen few become Emissaries destined, over the course of 13,000 years and through many reincarnations, to lead humanity into an era of peace and prosperity as foretold by the Elders of their race. But the forces of evil have taken possession of one man, Helghul, who relentlessly pursues Marcus and Theron through time, determined to destroy them and ruin all hope for salvation. The Emissary tracks Marcus’s epic adventure across centuries of human civilization to present day, where envoys of darkness gather threatening to bury the life-giving secrets of Atitala forever.
Good and evil come to blows and the future of mankind hangs in the balance.
“For every soul there is a theme, a path that must be followed, lessons that must be learned...”
Veitch and DeFazio’s award-winning debut novel deftly blends elements of a fantasy- adventure with historical fiction to create an unforgettable, fateful tale of eternal love, undying devotion, betrayal, suffering and the hope that binds us all.
Book Details:
Title: The Emissary
Author: Tamara Veitch and Rene DeFazio
Genre: Fantasy Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romantic Fiction
Series: The One Great Year Series, Book 1
Publisher and publish date: Waterside Press October 9, 2018
Print length: 216 pages
INTERVIEW WITH RENE DEFAZIO & TAMARA VEITCH
Q: Tell us about your series. Is this book a standalone, or do readers need to read the series in order?
A: The One Great Year Series begins with Book 1,
The Emissary, which opens on a Golden Age world where Marcus and Theron are two lovers bound by an eternal and unshakable bond. As a series of catastrophic events nearly destroys their world, the two – along with a chosen few – become Emissaries destined, over the course of 13,000 years and through many reincarnations, to lead humanity into an era of peace and prosperity as foretold by the Elders of their race. But the forces of evil have taken possession of one man, Helghul, who relentlessly pursues Marcus and Theron through time, determined to destroy them and ruin all hope for salvation. The Emissary tracks Marcus’s epic adventure across centuries of human civilization, to present day, where envoys of darkness gather threatening to bury the life-giving secrets of Atitala forever.
The Emissary blends elements of a fantasy-adventure with historical fiction and covers three vastly different periods in history.
Readers don’t have to read our books in order because we are careful to include all the background readers need as they join the series, but as Book I,
The Emissary closes, there are many more stories yet to be shared including lifetimes in ancient Greece with Plato and Socrates, Genghis Khan’s Mongolia, and World War II German occupied France. We are releasing Book II
The Emerald Tablet, rapid fire in February 2019, so that readers can jump right into the series without a long wait.
Q: What’s the most valuable thing you’ve learned?
A: "I alone know that I know nothing . . . " was attributed to Socrates more than 2000 years ago. In our research, and in life, we have learned to never judge others, because we cannot know their thoughts, experiences, capabilities and limitations. It is only the weakness of the ego that judges without compassion. Life is a series of lessons and the more patient and empathetic we can be with others and ourselves, the better the world will be.
Q: Have you been in any natural disasters?
A: Yes, and the experience has been used in our second novel! While in Lima, Peru in South America Rene was staying at a hotel and one morning while in the shower a slow rumble began to increase in volume. At first he thought it was a train traveling under the hotel. It was then he remembered the hotel was on a sheer cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Suddenly, the roar became deafening, and the toiletries began to fall off the glass shelves into the sink below them. He stepped out of the shower dripping wet, his mind in utter confusion. He opened the bathroom door and the bed was moving up and down rocking on its four legs across the room. He had never experienced an earthquake, and he panicked and ran around the apartment like Chicken Little, naked. He vaguely remembered learning that he should stand in a doorway, so he did until the earthquake subsided. When it ended, he went to the window and the Peruvians were outside walking their dogs like nothing happen, business as usual. The concierge later said, “that was a big one!” Apparently it was a 7.6 on the Richter scale.
Q: Wow! What is the most daring thing you've done?
A: Quitting our day jobs to write full time actually rates higher for us on the daring scale than either Rene’s world highest bungee in New Zealand, being charged by a twelve foot bull shark, one hundred feet down scuba diving six hours off the coast of Australia, or when we repelled 275 feet through waterfalls in Costa Rica. We both knew that
The Emissary needed our undivided attention, and we have never looked back. So, for us, the most daring thing we have ever done was definitely the wisest decision of our lives.
Q: What are your most cherished mementoes?
A: Our most cherished mementoes are the albums of our travels around the world. We learn something new every time we travel. From year to year, the photos immortalize and catalogue all of our memories. We can see the changes that those experiences have brought in us and in our children. It is wonderful to reflect on moments and places that deeply affected us and to learn how small the world is and how generous and alike people truly are. Another treasured memento is the Ica stone that we were given while in Peru researching. These same stones are woven into the storyline of
The Emissary, when Marcus is incarnated as Sartaña in Stone-at-Center.
Q: If you could only save one thing from your house, what would it be?
A: Our dog! Socrates is the best writing buddy on the planet, and he takes turns encouraging each of us. Every writer should have a dog at their side over the long solitary hours. We rescued Socs a year and a half ago, and now we can’t imagine life without him.
Q: What’s one of your favorite quotes?
A: There is a quote attributed to Albert Einstein that clearly outlines how we think: “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle, The other is as though everything is.” Even in the most difficult times we try to find lessons and gratitude and stay positive. That doesn’t mean never feeling anger, sadness or grief – those things are essentially human. For us it is a reminder to notice the wonder and beauty in the world around us.
Q: If you could live anywhere in the world, where in the world would it be?
A: We will always maintain a home base in the Vancouver area on the West Coast of Canada. We feel truly blessed to live in such a beautiful location, surrounded by amazing family and friends. As passionate travelers we plan to live as citizens of the world. Our goal is to long-stay in a number of places around the globe throughout the years. Our research for
The Emissary took us to Peru and Bolivia, and we fell in love with the beauty and simplicity of Pisac, Peru. It is near beautiful Cusco and is only a few hours from Machu Picchu in the Sacred Valley. We can definitely see ourselves spending a few months a year there. We also love Europe and are looking forward to improving our French, Spanish and Italian. Books III and IV will also have us returning to Asia for research, so we might just find another gem location that sticks in our hearts. There is just so much to see. We truly believe that next to reading there is nothing that helps one grow like travel.
Q: What would you like people to say about you after you die?
A: We would like to make a difference. We would like to have it said that we made the world a kinder, gentler place and that by fearlessly following our instincts and passions we were able to create novels that both entertained and inspired people. We would like to remembered for imagining beautiful possibilities and maybe even help people suffer less.
Q: How did you create the plot for this book?
A: The original idea for
The Emissary and The One Great Year Series was inspired by Graham Hancock’s book,
Fingerprints of the Gods. Rene was backpacking around the world visiting ancient ruins in Egypt, England, Indonesia, and others. Hancock’s alternative view on history was a huge inspiration to him. Rene got the idea to place characters into a world based on that reality. He wrote a fifteen-page treatment in which the main character Marcus was reincarnated. Marcus had past life memory, but his soulmate Theron did not, and he pursued her throughout the ages. Many years later, Rene pitched the idea to his co-author Tamara. Tamara loved the history, romance, and fantasy and together we wrote
The Emissary.
Q: Is your book based on real events?
A: The Emissary and the entire series are based on a real theoretical phenomenon known as The Great Year Cycle. The Great Year Cycle has been documented in over 31 ancient cultures. As our series progresses and more stories unfold, real world events and familiar historical characters are introduced. It is original, historical fantasy fiction based on world history, philosophy and infinite imaginative possibilities. We like to say it’s a fiction story in a non-fiction world.
Q: One of your characters has just found out you’re about to kill him off. He/she decides to beat you to the punch. How would he kill you?
A: Helghul, our antagonist, is the character most likely to demand brutal restitution for our plotting, but because
The Emissary is a reincarnation tale, our key Adversary likes to keep his enemies alive where he can see them. Helghul knows we authors will kill him off, over and over again, so rather than murder us, and allowing us to be reborn to write his brutal death in endless more ways, he would imprison us, torture us cruelly just for amusement, and prevent us from writing him any more harm.
Q: Yikes! With what five real people would you most like to be stuck in a bookstore?
A: We are two authors so we have two answers: For Tamara: I would love to be stuck with JK Rowling, JRR Tolkien, Charles Dickens, Stephen King, and my dad. I have literally studied the phrasing, dialogue, character development, and writing styles of these authors my whole life. They are my literary heroes, and I want to thank them. My dad, Jim Veitch, is in that list because though he was a huge supporter of my writing he passed away when I was only sixteen. I would love to be able to hand him our books and say thank you! #Gratitude
For Rene: I would like to be stuck with Mark Twain because I could listen to his ramblings all day, Socrates because who wouldn’t want to spend time with the wisest man ever to walk the planet? Marlon Brando not only because he was well-read but also just to bask in that charisma, Albert Einstein so I could tell him the quantum world does exist, and maybe he would finally find the theory of everything. Don Rickles because after all that heavy conversation we would all need a good laugh!
Q: What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received about your writing?
A: The greatest compliment for us has been “this book changed my life.” It is a BIG one, and we don’t take it lightly! We have heard it many times now, and we know it’s true because the theme that is the basis for the story changed our lives, too. Most people are wondering what their purpose is, or why we are here. Through lovingly crafted fiction we contemplate and then illuminate the answer to that question. As Marcus is reincarnated over the ages, he struggles with the brutality and grief of everyday life, but he doesn’t lose hope, because he and the other Emissaries know that there is a thread of consciousness that binds us all.
The Emissary reminds us that the illusion of separation between people is truly the root of all evil, and when we remember we are ever interconnected, we are changed, for the better.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: We are working on the audiobook for Book II, the
Emerald Tablet, that will come out February 2019. We loved recording the audio for
The Emissary because it allowed us to hear the story told as we had intended while writing. Rene is an experienced actor so he brought an incredible range and depth to the reading. It was rewarding to get the final audio files and hear how many character voices we had actually managed to record!
We are also very busy writing Book III in the series, and we are excited that the story still feels so alive and interesting; we are taking it in yet another fascinating direction. In between our creative ventures, for the rest of fall and winter, we will be visiting our local bookstores and libraries to meet readers and engage with people in person. We will also spend a lot of time on social media connecting and answering questions. We have decided to do a video blog to chronicle
The Emissary’s journey to becoming a bestseller, so along with our busy family life, we have our hands full!
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Rene DeFazio was born and raised in Canada and currently resides in the Vancouver area with his wife and writing partner Tamara Veitch. Rene is an actor and producer with more than eleven film and television roles to his credit. A world traveler and lifelong adventurer, Rene has called upon his unusual and exciting experiences in co-creating The One Great Year novel series. His tireless research and first hand knowledge of exotic locations, customs, sights, and smells help to bring this epic story to life.
Tamara Veitch is a writer, mural artist, and mother of three. She grew up in Canada and attended Simon Fraser University, studying English, psychology, history and General Arts. Tamara has had a lifelong interest in spiritual wisdom and has carefully researched ancient teachings from many traditions to ensure historical accuracy throughout The One Great Year Series.
Tamara and Rene have completed Book I and II in The One Great Year Series and are currently working on Book III. To maintain a dynamic and authentic presentation of the ancient secrets at the core of their writing, they travel to exotic locations in search of esoteric knowledge and cultural insights that will inspire readers everywhere. In 2014, Veitch and DeFazio were each awarded Empowered Writers Award at the World International Peace Festival in Vancouver, Canada.
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