The Dust of Ancients is set on the Cornish moors, among the old, abandoned mines left over from the booming copper-mining period in the 1800s. It’s a merging of Cornish folklore with modern-day issues of betrayal, addiction and revenge, as widowed American teacher Richard Lucas discovers he has been living a life should never have been. When he is tricked by his best friend into visiting Cornwall, on a so-called sabbatical, he finds the trailing end of a web of lies and deceit that will unravel with terrifying speed. With one tug he uncovers events that began over three thousand years ago on the place where the village of Lynher Mill now stands, and when he learns the shocking truth about himself he finally understands that his very existence threatens everyone he loves, and everything he believes in.

So what genre is this?
It’s Mythic Fiction, which is a sub-genre of Fantasy.

What makes it different?
The definition is that it’s a contemporary story with strong elements of folkore.

What kind of readers will it appeal to?
Anyone who would enjoy a new spin on the fantasy genre; people who like a strong romantic sub-plot, and fully-rounded characters; those readers who like to be teased with a glimpse at what just might be right under their noses.

Talk to us about those characters. What do we need to know about Richard?
Richard is 35 years old, he grew up in Chicago with his grandparents, and has a reputation for a quick and tough response to conflict. He doesn’t go looking for fights, but when they happen he enjoys them, and usually wins. This is not because of any physical power — he’s of average height and size — but because he’s got an inbuilt and unshakeable conviction that he’s right. His startling good-looks, and his easy-going nature, mean he attracts both men and women easily, but while he’s not short of companions, he chooses his closest friends and his lovers with extreme care; hence his tight circle of friends, and his early marriage to a plain but adorable girl he falls in love with soon after leaving college. After the death of his new bride, and the near-fatal wound he receives at the same time, he begins to experience violent dreams that send his now-calm life off the rails. We watch him as he struggles to cope with this, and with the knowledge that the answer might not be what he’s hoping for. He’s a talented musician, and his love for local girl — the first time he’s allowed himself to care for someone in thirteen years — helps him recover his love of music, and his sense of fun, but his new-found contentment will test him at every step.

This is a series, right?
The sequel to this book, The Lightning and the Blade is also now on sale.

I’m currently working on book three of the Lynher Mill Chronicles, and am due to present the third in my WW1 sagas to my publisher in the next couple of months, so that should be released around Christmas.

Your publisher? We thought you were indie?
I am a hybrid author, so while I am agented, and have a publisher for my historical sagas, I am self-publishing the Lynher Mill Chronicles because they are the books I love the most and I want to retain complete control.

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

Are you on social media?
www.facebook.com/terri.authorpage
@TerriNixon.