It’s about a teenage girl named Alex of Elf and mortal blood who has been charged by the two most powerful Elves on Seaward Isle to hunt down and kill the rogue Elf Mellen or die trying – in other words, a blood mission.  The fate of kings and the safety of the inhabitants of Seaward Isle depends upon her success.  At the same time, she must also deal with an alcoholic suitor willing to kill her if she doesn’t marry him.  Can Alex survive long enough to discover her true destiny?

What genre is it?
Epic fantasy

What kind of readers will it appeal to?
Readers who want an escape to another world.

This is part of a series, right?
“Blood Mission” is the third book of the Seaward Isle Saga.  The first book in the series is called “The Black Elf of Seaward Isle” and provides the background to Alex’s life, her training, and her first missions, as well as some insight into the peculiar nature of the island.  In the second book, “Tangled Omens,” Alex has a chance encounter with the pirate spy responsible for major security breaches of information about anti-pirate initiatives of the King.  She’s tasked to hunt him down before he does anymore damage.   The last book is a bonus book called The Island Game:  The Inside Story of Seaward Isle.  In this book, Olivia Richards, an American investigative reporter, is stranded on the island and launches an investigation to figure out what Seaward Isle is about.   

Tell us more about Alex.
Alex was born and raised on Seaward Isle.  Her father’s name was Count Dumwalt who married Lady Cadwin, the Titan/Elf, after the death of his first wife.  Alex has a mortal half-brother who hates her because she’s so different.  After her parents were killed by a wizard when she was four, she devotes her life to learn the skills to take revenge.  She excels in her training to be a soldier and is selected to become an elite tracker in the King’s Army, despite the fact that she’s the only woman in the force.  She can handle a sword better than most men and is an expert shot with a bow and arrow.  Her Titan blood has given her several unusual gifts including a blue light that can be shot from her hands to kill or heal and an ability to overhear Elfspeak, a form of thought communication used by Elves.  In “Blood Mission,” she’s just fifteen years old about to turn sixteen, an age when she can be married.  Her thoughts aren’t on marriage, just surviving this difficult year.

Tell us about Seaward Isle
This island is part of the Elf World known as Eledon, but it has fallen out of the grid that holds this world together. The Elves had abandoned it, but their Guides, the Mentors, held onto it, using entry points or as we would call it, wormholes. Unfortunately, at least one or more of these wormholes detached and strikes the Earth randomly bringing mortal ships to the island. Once the survivors come ashore, they find it impossible to leave because of a ring of storms around it, used to keep a Titan prisoner for Zeus who happens to be Alex’s grandfather. The survivors include the Elves who ended up on the island as they used the entry points as a shortcut across Eledon and got caught in the storms. It has been nearly a thousand years since the Elves arrived, and they are becoming impatient.

Tell us a bit about yourself.
I was born in Chicago, Illinois, but I currently live in Texas.  I retired from the U.S. Navy after 22 years of service.  After my husband passed away, I went back to work for the government, but I retired again after 7 years to devote more time to writing.

Do you have a website where we can keep up with your work?
www.theblackelf.com

How can we follow you on Twitter and/or Facebook?
On Twitter, my handle is @ParkerJoni and my Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJoniParker.  I’d love to meet y’all.

What’s next?
I have a new series in the works, tentatively called, “The Chronicles of Eledon.” Here’s a hint, Eledon is the name for the Elf World.