Your Next Favorite Author—Jennifer Ivy Walker!

Can the valiant knight win the coveted hand of his Viking Valkyrie?

Gabrielle is a flame haired, fire hearted French princess who dreams of becoming a Valkyrie warrior queen like her Viking ancestors from Normandy. Sent to Paris to learn the proper etiquette for a future French queen, she is called home to le Château de Beaufort for a forced marriage to a man she loathes when her father the king’s precarious health takes a sudden turn for the worse. 

Chivalrous, solitary knight Sir Bastien de Landuc suffers an impossible love for Gabrielle, the unattainable princess he can never have. Without a title of nobility, he is ineligible to compete in the tournament for her hand in marriage, despite his unparalleled equestrian skills and inimitable swordsmanship. 

Yet, Yuletide wishes for a wondrous winter solstice in the glorious Crystal Castle might make impossible dreams come true.

Can the valiant knight win the coveted hand of his Viking Valkyrie?

I am a former high school teacher and college professor of French, and I have always loved medieval legends such as Tristan et Yseult, which inspired my trilogy, The Wild Rose and the Sea Raven. 

This novel, Winter Solstice in the Crystal Castle, is a standalone story that is a spinoff of The Wild Rose and the Sea Raven trilogy, with many of the same characters and also introducing new ones.

I love the northwestern region of France called La Bretagne (Brittany in English) and the medieval Celtic legends from the enchanted Forest of Brocéliande, birthplace of Merlin, the Lady of the Lake Viviane, and Lancelot. Many of these same characters are in my trilogy and Winter Solstice in the Crystal Castle.

Avis: Welcome, readers, to another edition of Your Next Favorite Author! Today’s interview is with Jennifer Ivy Walker, who goes by Ivy. Welcome back, Ivy, and congratulations on another book! Ivy and I are old friends at this point, and I love learning new tidbits about her writing strategies and her latest projects!

            Let’s begin, shall we? Here’s the first question:

How long on average does it take you to write a book?

Ivy: I wrote each of my two novellas in about a month. Full length novels generally take me three to four months, depending on research.

Avis: That explains how you have so many books released! You are fast! It takes me three-times that long! LOL! You are keeping your readers happy, though, with new work for them to devour. 😊

            Our next question is:

What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?

Ivy: I am friends with Laura Strickland, whose writing style I admire very much, and Michelle Godard-Richer, who signed her first contract the same month and year I did. We share a lot of ideas, frustrations, and encouragement as writers. I am also friends with John Anthony Miller, who helped me with background information about Germans during WWII for my novel, The Witch of the Breton Woods.

Avis: You have some talented friends! It’s good to surround yourself with people who know the publishing industry and how quickly it’s changing. It’s a constant discussion I have with my friends, and it’s so nice to have people who understand. 😊

            You have written a series with several books, so this next question is one I’m interested in! 

Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?

Ivy: Winter Solstice in the Crystal Castle is a stand-alone novel, but it is also a spinoff of The Wild Rose and the Sea Raven trilogy, my paranormal fantasy adaptation of the medieval legend of Tristan et Yseult, interwoven with Arthurian myth, Avalon, Druids, forest fairies, and dark magic.  

In addition to the above-mentioned works which are all related, I have also written two steamy contemporary novellas: Amour in Avignon—set in the sunny south of France during the world-famous Festival of Theater– and Flames of Flamenco, which takes place in Montmartre, the bohemian heart of Paris. Those two works are quite different from the medieval time period of my trilogy and spinoff story, Winter Solstice in the Crystal Castle.

Another one of my upcoming novels, The Witch of the Breton Woods— to be published in the spring of 2024– is also a standalone work. It’s a WWII historical romance between a reclusive member of the French Resistance and the American paratrooper she heals while concealing him from the Gestapo and the French paramilitary collaborators known as la Milice.

I recently returned to the medieval setting of the enchanted Forest of Brocélainde (where my trilogy and Winter Solstice in the Crystal Castle take place) with another novel that I just finished this month, A Celtic Yuletide Carol.

I am also planning another paranormal fantasy series featuring the children of the characters introduced in my The Wild Rose and the Sea Raven trilogy.

Avis: Thanks for that answer! It really showcases how prolific you have been in the short amount of time you have signed your first contract with The Wild Rose Press! I’ll be reading Amour in Avignon, so look for more from one of our favorite authors, Jennifer Ivy Walker, soon!

            See links to Ivy’s socials below, and scroll to the bottom for my review of Winter Solstice in the Crystal Castle, another 5-star novel!

Social links:

Goodreads Author page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22671046.Jennifer_Ivy_Walker

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/winter-solstice-in-the-crystal-castle-christmas-in-the-castle-by-jennifer-ivy-walker

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JenniferIvyWalker

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/bohemienneivy

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/jenniferivywalkerauthor/

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jenniferivywalker

Amazon link:  https://www.amazon.com/Winter-Solstice-Crystal-Castle-Christmas-ebook/dp/B0CHG3ZQ8J/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3RKR1VJ3I44E0&keywords=winter+solstice+in+the+crystal+castle&qid=1698018313&sprefix=%2Caps%2C2491&sr=8-1

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/winter-solstice-in-the-crystal-castle-jennifer-ivy-walker/1144031968?ean=2940186024446

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/bohemienneivy/winter-solstice-in-the-crystal-castle/

Jennifer Ivy Walker’s author web site link: https://jenniferivywalker.com/

Review by Avis M. Adams

Winter Solstice in the Crystal Cave, from the Christmas in the Castle series is another excellent fantasy/romance from Jennifer Ivy Walker. Walker continues the saga of courtly love in the kingdom of Finistère at the Chateau de Beaufort located in the Bretagne (Brittany) region of France. 

We meet Gabrielle, King Guillemin’s daughter, as well as Bastion, the third son of a Lord. He is the King’s Man of the Horse and Gabrielle’s personal knight and guardian, but when they fall in-love, they realize that they might as well live on different planets. She is a princess, and he is the third son of Sir Esclados Le Ros, Lord of the Chateau du Landuc. 

            King Guillemin is dying, but he wants to see his daughter married before he does, so he invites all the eligible bachelors to participate in a Yuletide Joust. The winner earns the Princess Gabrielle’s hand in marriage and become heir to Finistère. Lords who cannot fight can choose a champion, and the villainous Ugolin Cauchon selects his father’s best knight to fight in the tournament for him. He is assured of victory and the hand of the Princess, and as King, he can destroy Le Traité Maritime. This will allow the pirate activity he runs to operate without fear of reprisal. 

            Gabrielle knows about Ugolin’s lust for her, and so does Bastien. He would kill Ugolin before he’d let him win Gabrielle’s hand, but he feels that way about any man who would win the hand of his beloved, and Gabrielle feels the same. If she can’t have Bastien, well, she doesn’t know what she’ll do. 

            When King Guillemin invites his royal friends and some of the best healers in the lands, Gabrielle convinces to let her father have someone besides his personal physician diagnose his condition. Since his physician has only been on the job for nine months, King Guillemin agrees, and the healers discover that the only think the king is suffering from besides his gout is poison.

            Walker masterfully weaves a tale of intrigue and suspense, a love story that will have you turning pages to find out their fate. The fighting both with weapons and with intrigue are harrowing, and readers will be on the edge of their seats hoping this couple will get the love they deserve. This wonderful 5-star fantasy/romance will delight readers of Walkers other work, and new fans who find hours of reading pleasure.