{Review + Interview + Giveaway} Caprion’s Wings (The Cat’s Eye Chronicles Novella) by T.L. Shreffler @poetsforpeanuts

Words cannot express how excited I am to tell you about this book and host T.L. on my blog. So check out my review and T.L.'s interview and don't forget to click here to download the first book in the series for free!

By the age of nineteen, all Harpies know how to fly—except Caprion. He has yet pass the test of the Singing and gain his wings. His family has disowned him in shame and people are beginning to talk. Now an evil voice haunts his dreams, taunting him, drawing out his worst fears—that he will remain wingless forever.

Caprion decides to find the root of this insidious voice, no matter what it takes. He journeys to the secret prisons of the Harpy underground, where he meets a young slave named Moss. In those sunless, decrepit cells, a forbidden friendship is formed. Can Caprion and Moss find the source of the voice? And can Caprion save Moss from a terrible fate? Join young Caprion as he journeys down, down into the earth, finding his wings and forging a friendship that will change him forever. *Caprion's Wings is a companion story to The Cat's Eye Chronicles.

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5 out of 5 stars

I am fangirling so hard right now. This book had me pacing in suspense even though I knew Caprion was going to get his wings and the Harpies were going to be fine and I was fairly confident my favorite/second favorite character would be fine. I cringed, I writhed in suspense, I laughed (in a he’s-going-to-be-your-general-someday-sucker way), and I want Ferran’s Map yesterday.

The plot:

In Volcrian’s Hunt (my review) we meet Caprion, a Harpy general who proves to be slightly less of an SOB than the majority of his compatriots. I kind of wanted to beat him over the head with a shovel for all his pompousness in that book. I wasn’t sure I would be able to overcome that very easily, but I was pulling for him by the end of the second page. Despite knowing he’d be fine, I had several moments of borderline panic and had to stop at a few points and pace until I calmed down because I couldn’t handle the suspense anymore.

The characters:

Like I said, I had a whole new outlook on Caprion by page 2. We get a glimpse into his early struggles and fears and I never would have suspected any of them when reading about him in Volcrian’s Hunt. (Though the fraternal rivalry is hinted at.) Caprion was brave and compassionate and not willing to let the propaganda about the Sixth Race cloud his judgment of Moss and I dare you to read this and not adore him.

In Volcrian's Hunt, we learn that Crash (an elite assassin of the Sixth Race, my Favorite Character) knew a girl when he was younger who was kinder and sweeter than the Sixth Race generally allows and was abducted by Harpies when she was around thirteen. In Caprion’s Wings, Caprion befriends a girl of the Sixth Race around thirteen whose been taken captive and makes a deal to set her free and return her to the mainland. In Volcrian’s Hunt, :spoiler:we also learn that one of the female assassins of the Sixth Race who’s hunting Crash was abducted by Harpies as a girl and somehow freed and returned to mainland with no memory of how she escaped. :spoiler over: Coincidence? I THINK NOT!!! But I loved Moss and in part because of that I hated the majority of the Harpy race by the end.

Sumas and Dahlia and the Matriarch were just begging for some unspeakable fate in this book. Of course, they kind of were in Volcrian’s Hunt, too (except for Dahlia, who wasn’t in that book). This series does a good job of not making any one group or species all bad or all good, there’s a mix in all the races.

I love, love, LOVE these books and I want Ferran’s Map even more now! (Which I wouldn’t have thought possible.)

T. L. Shreffler lives in Los Angeles, CA. She loves diversity, fantasy, romance, iced tea, long walks, philosophy, and thrift store shopping. She recently graduated with a BA in Badass (Creative Writing) and her poetry has been published consecutively in Eclipse: A Literary Journal and The Northridge Review. She is author of The Cat's Eye Chronicles (YA/Epic Fantasy) and The Wolves of Black River (PN Romance.)

Caprion’s Wings is a prequel novella telling the backstory of a character introduced in the third book of your YA Epic Fantasy series, The Cat’s Eye Chronicles. Did you always plan to write the novella or was it unexpected? How did you get the idea for it?

Caprion’s Wings was a very unexpected story! You could say it “fell out of the sky” (hur hur hur.) But there is a method to this madness. When I wrote the first version of Cat’s Eye back in 2006, Caprion made a brief appearance at the end of the book, right before Crash and Sora sailed happily off into the sunset (a very different version from what we have in Volcrian’s Hunt.) Readers at that time were very curious about Caprion and wanted to see more of him. So, as I rewrote Volcrian’s Hunt last year, I decided to make a little room for Caprion to continue his story. And he actually has an important role to play in Book 4, particularly with Krait and the Shade, so he fits in nicely!

Caprion is a “seraphim,” a battle-born Harpy with six powerful wings. Seraphims are very rare, so while studying Caprion’s character, I found myself asking a lot of questions: how does one become a seraphim? How does any Harpy gain his wings? And who was Caprion before he became the Matriarch’s right-hand man? I wrote Caprion’s Wings to answer these questions both for myself and for curious readers.

What was your biggest challenge in writing Caprion’s Wings?

Definitely the power play between Caprion, the Matriarch, and a young slave named Moss. The power dynamic between these three characters is very fluid. Caprion finds himself caught between rescuing Moss and appeasing the Matriarch; to save Moss, he must go against his queen, but as a seraphim, he has a duty to serve and protect his race. It became a very complicated scenario to weave! I must have read over it 50 times to make sure there were no plot holes.

Describe Caprion in a tweet—140 characters or less!

A wingless boy struggling to fly: doubtful, desperate, a little untried, but determined to change his lot in life. #CaprionsWings (rhyming intentional lol)

If you could say one thing to any of your characters, what would it be and who would you say it to?

To Caprion’s older brother, Sumas: my gawd are you a jerk! There is no reasonable explanation for just how big a jerk you are! (But as we age, I suppose we run across people who are selfish and competitive for no reason other than to get ahead in life.) Sumas, I wish you many grumpy, jealous and scheming thoughts for years to come….

And now a few questions just for fun…

Favorite mythological creature and why?

Gryphons! Because they are so unlikely….

Favorite overdone storyline?

A girl or boy being transported to another world where they partake in a mysterious, fantastical adventure! (ie. Alice in Wonderland, Narnia, etc.) This gimmick rocks because it allows the reader to retain their perspective on the “real world” while exploring a brand new fantastical world. What an excellent opportunity to discuss social norms, culture, perceived truths and other ideas contrary to what we find “everyday”...

What’s a question you’ve wanted to be asked in an interview? What’s your answer?

Q: Why don’t you write about “tough” heroines who have tons of snarky attitude?

These days it seems like all female characters need to be pumped full of “snark” and “sass” to be “strong.” However, in real life, I find this kind of behavior extremely obnoxious! I don’t think it portrays women very accurately. Some girls (especially in the bookworm realm) are not extroverted, bullheaded and full of attitude. Many of them are quiet, shy, and sweet by nature. By creating similar heroines, I wanted to validate these feminine traits. You don’t need to be a b*tch to be strong. These snarky characters seem to tell young women NOT to embrace their femininity, but to try to act like men, which I think is destructive. Women occupy a unique role in society. We are the mothers and the nurturers--and that’s just biology. Estrogen is full of gushy, mushy feelings, and that’s okay! We don’t need to compete with men. We need to embrace our unique identity as women. Men need to learn the value of femininity, and if women themselves are denying that value, then I don’t think feminism is doing its job. As Crash says in Viper’s Creed, “You don’t have to be strong all the time. That’s asking a bit much. You can be soft too, if that is who you are.” It’s OK to be sweet, gentle, naive and young. You really don’t need to be “tougher than the guys” to save the world. Author Links: Amazon Twitter Website Facebook Pinterest

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