Luka by Dianne Hartsock 💕 Fun Facts, Book Tour & Gift Card Giveaway 💕 (M/M Fantasy Romance)

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Luka makes a desperate wish and the earth shifts to his will. Regretting it immediately, he tries to undue the sorcery, but it is too late. He asked for hope, and to his horror, all the hope in the world is given into his keeping. He desires nothing more than to return this gift to the world.

Aethan wants to get his hands on the Well of Hope in Luka’s keeping. If he can ransom out hope to others at his whim, the world will be at his feet. Where it belongs.

With the aid of his lover, Rhys, Luka stays one step ahead of Aethan. But Rhys has his own enemy in Aethan, his estranged father.

Rescued by Luka, his sweet, gentle witch, Rhys now stands with him against Aethan. They have vowed to return the Well of Hope to the earth despite all odds, or die trying. For what is life worth, for anyone, without hope?

Hello everyone! I loved writing LUKA. I love Luka, his lover Rhys, his daughter Ravan. I enjoyed writing about Tarian and Aethan and even Lorin. But more than writing the story itself, I loved the research. I’d never written a book involving a witch before and spent many hours intrigued with the proper way to ward a room, heal a wound, how to mix herbs and potions and immerse oneself in the natural world.

I researched the Green Man, the power and properties of live oak trees. Medieval societies and rulers and laws and punishments. White vs. Dark Magic. The Fae and how they view humans. Ways to combine psychic ability with crystal properties. Astro-projecting. The lifespan of an oak grove. The symbolism of the Stag.

So many interesting subjects! But the one I found the most intriguing is when I researched Yellowstone National Park. Have you ever been there? Such a fascinating place! Hot springs, geysers, mudpots of boiling clay, fumaroles of steam. Sulfur and limestone. Boiling hot and strangely colored pools creating dangerous gases. Travertine terraces, which are hot springs that rise up through limestone, dissolve the calcium carbonate, and deposit the calcite that makes the terraces.

I created a landscape similar to Yellowstone Park in LUKA, only more deadly and frightening. Ash Swale. And at one point Aethan sets a field of sulfur on fire. This was an amazing discovery for me! When sulfur burns it produces sulfur dioxide, which turns into sulfurous acid when it comes in contact with water. That means it can be deadly if you breathe it into your lungs. But burning sulfur also turns this incredibly vibrant blue color, absolutely gorgeous and deadly. I had no idea it would do that. In my story, the field of sulfur becomes a glorious blue river Luka can’t take his eyes off of. This is a natural phenomenon that took my breath away.

Thanks for stopping in! Is there any curious or fun fact you learned recently that took you by surprise?

Rhys knelt up and stirred the glowing embers of their fire into a pile, adding a few large pieces of wood against it, then sat with his back to a nearby wall, feet toward the fire. He’d seen Luka ward their home with sage and sweet grass. Widow Ravan used cedar. What would Luka do with a stone?

Luka moved to the center of the cave and took a slow turn around, banishing any malicious energy from the hollow. Raven had taught Rhys that much, explaining they wouldn’t want to trap anything negative in with them when she warded a place. After several long heartbeats, Luka sat cross-legged on the sandy floor, a dark figure in the bright glow from the fire, relaxed, comfortable, as if he rested in his own home. Watching him, pride stirred in Rhys’s breast. Most others he’d witnessed would strut around the area they warded chanting under their breaths, making grand gestures and filling the space with smoke that stung his eyes. It all seemed to be for show, their wards precarious at best.

It was never like that with Luka. He went calmly about his business, with purpose, and a reverence for the magic of the earth. He sat calmly now, his focus on the stone he passed back and forth between his hands as if weighing it, studying its structure, its essence. He did this for a long moment, then stilled.

The hair on Rhys’s arms and the nape of his neck lifted, and he shivered. The air felt different, charged. His senses heightened.

Dianne is the author of m/m romance, paranormal suspense, fantasy adventure, the occasional thriller, and anything else that comes to mind. She lives in the beautiful Willamette Valley of Oregon with her incredibly patient husband, who puts up with the endless hours she spends hunched over the keyboard letting her characters play. She says Oregon’s raindrops are the perfect setting in which to write. There’s something about being cooped up in the house with a fire crackling on the hearth and a cup of hot coffee warming her hands, which kindles her imagination.

Currently, Dianne works as a floral designer in a locally-owned gift shop. Which is the perfect job for her. When not writing, she can express herself through the rich colors and textures of flowers and foliage.