On Tour with Prism Book Tours...
The Legendary Tour
As the lighting blazed in a dancing, arcing column to the sky, a voice deep and powerful as thunder said, “My son, today my powers are bestowed upon you.”
As the lighting blazed in a dancing, arcing column to the sky, a voice deep and powerful as thunder said, “My son, today my powers are bestowed upon you.”
This tour goes back to the age of legends. The author has taken a deep dive into rich history, bringing his love of fantasy with him.
GUEST POST
Calendars and Languages of the Guiamo Chronicles
If you’ve been
following the tour and have read the excerpts from the Guiamo Chronicles,
you discovered names of some strange sounding
months! Samonios and Aedrinios are not what we are used to hearing. In writing The Chronicles of Guiamo Durmius Stolo, Marshall Best has used two different calendars. In book one, Guiamo, you will find the Roman calendar being used as it takes place in Gaul under Roman rule. In subsequent novels, the author switches between Roman calendar months and Old Celtic calendar months depending on who is speaking. Guiamo and Ursius are Romans, so when they refer to the calendar, they use the Roman names. All others use the Old Celtic names of the months. It's interesting to note that all but three of the months in the Roman calendar are recognizable compared to the modern, whereas the Old Celtic are completely foreign. Below are lists of both calendars. You will notice in the middle column the approximate time of each month. They usually overlapped with our traditional months. Although scholars debate which of our modern months correlate to the ancient calendars, Best has just chosen the one that seemed best to him.
Old Celtic Months Modern Day Roman Months
Anagantios January/February Ianuarius
Ogronnos February/March Februarius
Cutios March/April Martius
Giamonios April/May Aprilis
Simivisonna May/June Maius
Equas June/July Iunius
Elembiu July/August Quintilis
Aedrinias August/September Sextilis
Cantlos September/October September
Samonios October/November October
Dummanios November/December November
Rivras December/January December
Throughout The Chronicles of Guiamo Durmius Stolo, there are an abundance of words referred to that are Latin and Old Irish. Best has said many times that he would love to have an expert in Latin and Old Irish read his books to critique the use of the words. He wishes it to be as authentic as possible. It is one of his greatest frustrations that he does not know how to pronounce many of the words. When asked how to pronounce certain words, his answer will be, "I have no idea!." In this region, Old Irish is the oldest recorded language and can be tied back to around 500 A.D. which is much later than the period in which the stories take place. As with other things in the story, because there are so many holes in ancient history, an author must make a choice and Old Irish seemed best to use. Many of the Latin and Old Irish terms are listed below with their meanings. As with the months, when Guiamo or Ursius are speaking, Latin terms are used. Old Irish is used elsewhere. In the back of each book, Best has provided a glossary to help the reader in understanding the many new terms.
Commonly Used Latin Words Commonly Used Old Irish & Pritana Words
oppidum - Fort Ard ri - high king, literally, "High horse rider"
Druidae - druid Drui - druid
Druides - druids Druide - druids
scorpio - giant crossbow bocoit - shield
gladius - Roman short sword Bandrui - female druid
clavicula - key bairgen - loaf of bread
clostellum - lock claideb - sword
legio - legion coimetaid - guardian
milites gregarius - veteran soldier coiced - division
pugio - dagger cruisech - spear
passum - paces longphort - encampment
volumen - scroll Ri Coiced - king of a division of the Cruthin
regnator - king Ri Tuaithe - tribal king
Mare Internum - Mediterranean Sea Ignu-al - light
Combining legitimate legends with actual historical events, Marshall Best weaves an epic story that portrays the ancient world as it might have been, a world which the ancient historians recorded as fact; a time when gods ruled the earth and strange creatures dominated the land. It is the era of civilized conquerors exploring distant and primitive new lands. Scant recordings left to us today only touch on the fringe of the fantastic and brutal reality that existed in those distant lands of the west.
Into this age, young Guiamo enters the world stage as the great game-changer, and by his hand the gods and beasts become destined to disappear into myth and legend.
Guiamo Durmius Stolo sails in 55 B.C. with Rome’s 7th Legion as Julius Caesar invades Britain. But Caesar has not before encountered the Fomori, a dominion of wicked creatures which wage war against the human inhabitants and dominate much of Britain. Armed with his god-made spear, Guiamo joins with the tribal kings against their Fomori foe when Caesar departs.
Having destroyed the Fomori in Britain , Guiamo Durmius Stolo decides in 51 B.C. to bring the Cruthin people, once slaves to the Fomori, to Ireland , but encounters the Fomori who reside there as well. Guiamo discovers that the gods venerated by the Druids are unworthy. The gods are displeased with him and begin to work against him.
In 50 B.C. Guiamo Durmius Stolo finds himself victor over the detested Fomori whose leader, Cichol, is slain and those few who survived are scattered. Guiamo explores the secret places where Cichol kept his most important secrets and discovers there the treasures of Cichol's master, the goddess Domnu.
Goodreads * Creatspace * Smashwords
The Author:
Marshall Best is an avid reader, father of six and business owner. In the past several years he has found his love of writing as well. What began as a desire to write a story for his children has evolved into a nine book series.
Marshall Best is an avid reader, father of six and business owner. In the past several years he has found his love of writing as well. What began as a desire to write a story for his children has evolved into a nine book series.
Marshall has done extensive research into the history behind the legends, people and places of England, Scotland and Ireland involved in his books. He loves being able to weave real people and legends into his stories making them come alive. He is definitely a writer that tends to the details often mapping out timetables, calendars, geneologies, etc. that pertain to his book to ensure that it is as realistic as possible.
Marshall also enjoys putting real life issues into his books, delving into a bit of philosophy while entertaining with orcs, dragons, magic and battles. He is someone who loves a grand adventure but makes sure it's not a shallow one.
Tour-Wide Giveaway:
-One print set signed by author – world wide giveaway
-One print set signed by author – world wide giveaway
-One complete e-book set – codes provided to smashwords
-Two winners: e-book of Cumoro and a $5 Amazon gift card each
-Two winners: e-book of Morlanos and a $5 Amazon gift card each
-Two winners: e-book of Inis Emain Ablach and a $5 Amazon gift card each
Ends 12/20. Please see restrictions on Rafflecopter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Follow the Chronicles of Guiamo as they unfold on...
The Legendary Tour:
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The Legendary Tour:
11/25: Launch
11/27: Cu's Ebook Giveaways
11/29: Mel's Shelves
12/1: Life as Leels
12/3: Tressa’s Wishful Endings
12/4: Bookworm Lisa
12/5: Mythical Books
12/6: All Fantasy Worlds
12/8: Pieces of Whimsy
12/10: My Devotional Thoughts
12/11: Mortal Moments
12/12: It Started With A Click
12/13: Grande Finale
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