About
the Book:
Book II in the "CREATION
SEEKERS" series
Published by: CREATION WAY BOOKS (an
imprint of KOT BOOKS, LLC). March, 2019. (Softcover; 250 pages. Illustrated by
Becky Miller.)
Jonathan Oliver is chasing down an
intruder on Lake Oswego’s Iron Mountain when he discovers some long-buried
artifacts. One of these relics sparks a remarkable spinoff from the Oliver
family’s greatest invention. Together, Jon and his father incorporate their
breakthrough into a revolutionary submersible design. At the invitation of Dr.
Graham MacKenzie, the Gyrosensors team travels to one of Scotland’s wildest and
remotest regions—and its deepest lake—to develop their secret prototype. While
staying at Dr. MacKenzie’s retreat center, they meet a pretty but mysterious
Frenchwoman going under an assumed name. Across the loch, the reclusive
caretaker of a Victorian-era hunting lodge is hiding staggering secrets of his
own. During the prototype's construction and sea trials, Jon and his family
confront enemies on land, in the air and under the water. In the end, Jon
rekindles a long-lost love and finds an ancient, holy treasure-hoard.
Buy the book:
Print: $11.99 plus $3.95 shipping
Print: $13.95
Ebook: $4.99, special during this promotion: $2.99
*(Before you post the info on this
title, I will also reduce its Kindle price to $2.99.)
A
brief interview with the author:
What
do you love about your new book?
One aspect of my new book I love is
that Scottish legends are central to the plot (just as in The Lake Lights). In The Vikings of Loch Morar, the legend is
connected to actual phenomena taking place in and around a Scottish
lake. (Not Loch Ness, by the way.) Something else I love about this title is
the way the Vikings and Viking history are tied to modern-day Oregon and
Scotland. I enjoyed the process of intertwining historical fact and
fiction and tying up some of the loose ends left in The Lake Lights. I’m always blessed by Becky Miller’s marvelous
illustrations as well.
Most of all, I love how God reveals
Himself in this book by strengthening the characters’ faith and by helping
them to survive in the face of impossible odds. God definitely had a part in
resurrecting the relationship between Jonathan Oliver and his former love
interest, too!
What
are two things you learned while researching?
In order to make the plot
believable, I learned to read and write Old Norse runes, much as J.R.R. Tolkien
employed in The Lord of the Rings. In fact, once I learned Old Norse
runology, I could read what Tolkien had written in runes on one of his book
covers. (“One ring to rule them all, One ring to find them…”) It turns out that
he transliterated English words phonetically into those runes. In The Vikings of Loch Morar, however, I
actually translated my English phrases into Old Norse before transliterating
the Old Norse into runes. (That ancient language shares a common
Proto-Germanic ancestor with English, by the way.) I also researched the
evidence for Viking settlements in America and in the British Isles. To this
day, we still don’t know how far those seafaring raiders penetrated
into America, though they left behind tantalizing clues in the form of
tools and runestones.
Tell
us about the character who gave you the most trouble.
That would be Crìsdean MacKenzie,
caretaker of the Swordland Lodge. Not only is his accent thicker than
day-old Scottish porridge, but I also had to create his character and
backstory out of whole cloth. MacKenzie (not to be confused with Dr.
Graham MacKenzie) is the latest in a long line of caretakers,
having taken an early retirement from his teaching position at Oxford to
replace the former caretaker. Crìsdean harbors an old and
extraordinary secret passed down from one caretaker to the next. It is
this knowledge that ultimately becomes the focal point of the plot.
What
do you hope readers will tell others about your book?
That it offers something for
everybody—adventure, inspiration, history and mystery, suspense, science and
science fiction, romance—and a glimpse into the Christian vision of life after
death.
What are you reading now?
Anything I can get my hands on!
What’s
next?
I’m actually engaged in the
reprinting of some of my first series titles under my own imprint (Creation Way
Books). Sadly, my former publisher, WinePress, closed its doors a few years ago
and left quite a number of authors in the lurch. I have finally figured out how
to republish all seven of those titles myself, but I’m having to reformat
everything from scratch. It will be a protracted process.
About the Author
William D. Burt is the award-winning
author of the seven-title Christian allegorical “King of the Trees” series and
of his new Creation Seekers series: “The Lake Lights” (Book 1) and “The Vikings
of Loch Morar” (Book 2). All nine of Burt’s titles have been awarded five stars
by Readers’ Favorite reviewers. Two of his first series titles (out of three
submitted) were finalists in the 2014 Readers’ Favorite International Book
Award Contest: “The King of the Trees” and “The Golden Wood.”
“The King of the Trees” subsequently
won the 2014 Silver Medal in the category of “Christian Fantasy/Sci-fi.”
The Creation Seekers series is
William Burt’s first foray into the realm of science fiction. The titles in
this series feature the adventures of a fictional Oregon family of brilliant
scientists and educators who turn the world upside down with their
revolutionary inventions and discoveries.
As an Assistant Professor in
the Special Education Department at Western Oregon University, Burt served as a
successful grant-writer and program coordinator. He holds a B.S. in English
from Lewis and Clark College and an M.S. in Deaf Education from Western Oregon
University. Burt has been an RID-certified sign-language interpreter with over
forty years’ experience. His interests include reading, foreign languages and mycology.
He is married with two grown children and four grandchildren.
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