{Interview & Giveaway} with Allyson James + Coyote Myth

As apart of the Midnight Summer Festival Hosted by Rabid Reads & Mission to Read I had the wonderful opportunity to interview author Allyson James of the Stormwalker series. 

The Stormwalker series is about a Young woman named Janet Begay, who  holds the power of nature. She is guided by her off and on lover Mick, who is a powerful man, with a very big secret. With the help of a frustrating god called Coyote Janet learn about her power, her family ties to dark power, and how to survive the evil paranormal being that are after them.

Coyote

The character, Coyote is a shape shifting trickster god, who is  of course tall dark and handsome and really loves the ladies. Through the course of the books, you realize he may seem like a joker but hes extremely powerful and dangerous. 

The Native American Mythology

The coyote is  usually a male character and is known for having coyote like features such as yellow eyes, claws and fur. The Coyote is known for being a creator, lover, magician, and trickster. There are many folklore's about the Coyote that run through the native American culture.


Please welcome author Allyson James

SNR: As a fan of the Stormwalker Series its' an honor to interview you and spread the word about your wonderful books and characters.

AJ: Thank you!

SNR: First and foremost can you tell us a little bit in your own words about the Stormwalker series for those who haven’t had the pleasure of reading them?

AJ: Janet Begay is a Navajo Stormwalker. She can't create storms, but she can channel the power of existing storms to work some kick-butt magic. She opens a hotel in a small town near the Navajo Nation, where she gets involved in all kinds of supernatural happenings. She's joined by her dragon-shifter biker boyfriend Mick, a drag queen magic mirror, the trickster Coyote, a Wiccan hotel manager, and a host of other friends and foes (including more dragons and a tightly wound sheriff who is a magic null).

Janet has other magic within her, which she inherited from her evil goddess-from-hell mother who lives locked in the world Beneath. Janet needs to keep her mother from emerging, but at the same time deals with a host of problems that comes with being Stormwalker with paranormal friends.

SNR: Your character Janet Begay was raised on the Navajo Nation and draws power from storms that work with her magic. What research did you do to get the feel of the character's Navajo background?

AJ: I don't live far from the Navajo Nation, so I journey there whenever I can, talk to people, and just absorb the feeling of the landscape. The Hopi and Apache nations are big parts of the state as well and also figure into the stories, so I research them too --reading books, visiting ruins, museums, and so forth. I make a lot of road trips!

SNR: One of my favorite characters is Coyote, you never know what he’s up to or where he’ll pop up. As he is a powerful god and shape shifter, what brought his character together? Did you research on the Coyote/Navajo mythology?

AJ: I've read many stories about Coyote--he is part of the lore of many American tribes. He's mostly a pain-in-the-butt god, causing trouble for other gods and humans too. Many of the stories about him are dirty, which is why Coyote has such sexual overtones in my books.

Coyote in the Stormwalker series is my own take on him; he's not necessarily an exact reproduction from all the Coyote tales. I did get the idea for the ending of Shadow Walker from Navajo Coyote stories, and intend to expand on them in the next book.

SNR: I loved the addition of having a dragon-shifter amongst a lot of Native American shifters. What brought on the inspiration of Mick’s character?  Just to add I wish I could meet him in real life, he’s a dreamy bad boy biker. J

AJ: Mick came into the story in an interesting way. He wasn't there when I first started brainstorming the series. Janet didn't have a love interest, and I had vague ideas about who she would hook up with. But none of it seemed right.

Out of the blue, this big, bad biker guy walked into my head. He had a wicked smile, lots of tattoos, and loved to play with fire. That song, "Bad to the Bone," kept running through my head. I decided Mick should be Janet's ex, coming back to find her and protect her.

SNR: Janet and Mick defiantly love their motorcycles, do you have a special interest in motorcycles or are you a biker chick yourself?

AJ: I'm a wannabe biker chick, LOL. I do like motorcycles, but I don't own one.

Maybe someday! I'd love to take one on the back roads around where I live.

SNR: What did you enjoy most about writing the Stormwalker Series?

AJ: I love writing about the landscape. I live in it, and find it so beautiful. The deserts of the southwest are unlike anywhere else in the world. There's a dramatic vista around every corner, and it just keeps getting more beautiful. There's a stillness that's hard to describe.

I also like writing about magic and mayhem. That's just fun.

SNR: If you could be anyone of your characters who would it be and why?

AJ: I think I'd pick Maya Medina, the Latina electrician. For one, she's very smart; two, she doesn't have any magic to mess up her life; and three, she gets to go out with the very hot Sheriff Nash Jones. He might be hard-assed but he has a heart of gold underneath it all. And he's hot. Did I mention that?

SNR: What are some of your favorite titles/authors in the paranormal genres?

AJ: I like Carrie Vaughan's Kitty series and I enjoy Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels series. I haven't read Andrews' Edge series, but it sounds intriguing. I was a fan of Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse series from the get-go. I also think MelJean Brook (Demon series, and The Iron Duke), is a fabulous writer. Marjorie Liu's Iron series is also very cool.

SNR: Shadow Walker is the 3rd book for the series in June, any fun tidbits you might want to say to get us even more excited? I can’t wait to see what Mick and Janet get involved in next J

AJ: Let's see: Ansel, the Nightwalker who plays a role in the novella "Double Hexed" (in the Hexed anthology), has a slayer after him, and asks Janet for help. Meanwhile Janet gets to know Coyote's wife, learns more about her half-sister, and meets the woman who wants to marry her father. Mick needs to seek a few things before he and Janet can marry, and Janet faces a mystery that involves the ruins at Chaco Canyon (which is an amazing place). There will be more romance, mayhem, magic, mystery, and of course, the hot Mick, Nash, Colby, Coyote, and others.

Thank you so much to Allyson James for visiting Seeing Night Reviews!

Author information

Blog | Stormwalker Site | Jennifer Ashley

NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY!

One copy of Shadow Walker book 3

USA and Canada only

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