Erika Lewis

Erika Lewis graduated from Vanderbilt University and went on to earn an Advanced Certificate in Creative Writing from Stony Brook University. She has had a successful career in television production.

Lewis's newly released debut novel is Game of Shadows.

Recently I asked the author about what she was reading. Her reply:

I tend to read two or three books at a time. Right now, next to my bed, my reward for a long day’s work, is the sequel to Juliet Marillier's Daughter of the Forest, Son of the Shadows. Since my own novel, Game of Shadows uses ancient Irish legends I love to dive into other series exploring them but ones very different from my own. Marillier’s prose is dreamy. Her descriptions of landscapes and characters lull you into a peaceful state, only to be hit over the head with terrifying events. It’s simply spectacular. Since I’m still reading the sequel, I’ll talk a little about the Daughter of the Forest. Simply put, a young heroine must save her brothers after an evil stepmother turns them into swans. With a task that feels impossible to complete, along with rules that keep Sorcha from speaking during most of the novel, the story seems to raise the stakes, throwing hurdle after hurdle in her way. A twist on the Children of Lir legend from the Irish Mythological cycle, this is one not to be missed if you love historical fantasy and romance.

I’m also obsessed with research. With Game of Shadows, I spent more time during the two year writing process with thick books on Irish and Celtic mythology, and the history of Ireland, than I did with pleasure reads. One of the most memorable was P.W. Joyce’s Old Celtic Romances. Joyce translated these stories from Irish in 1894. The myths themselves inspirations for so many novels, including the one above (I assume,) my goals were to create something in our modern world that played in a fun way with what I learned from books like this one. These old stories still hold up. They twist and turn in unexpected ways, leading to conclusions of what feels like moral justice, but never without a heavy cost.

Visit Erika Lewis's website.

The Page 69 Test: Game of Shadows.

--Marshal Zeringue