As a former high school French teacher and college professor of the “language of love”, I have always been passionate about medieval legends such as Tristan et Yseult, which inspired my award-winning trilogy, The Wild Rose and the Sea Raven.
Two of my other books-- Winter Solstice in the Crystal Castle (published in 2023) and my upcoming release, A Celtic Yuletide Carol (to be published in 2024) --are standalone novels that are spinoffs of The Wild Rose and the Sea Raven trilogy, featuring many of the same characters while also introducing new ones.
I love the northwestern region of France called La Bretagne (Brittany in English) and the medieval Celtic legends from the enchanted Forest of Brocéliande, birthplace of Merlin, the Lady of the Lake Viviane, and Lancelot. Many of these same characters and places are in my trilogy, the spinoff novels, and my upcoming WWII historical romantic suspense, The Witch of the Breton Woods (to be published July 10, 2024).
In addition to medieval French fantasy and Viking historical romance, I have also written two very steamy novellas that are contemporary romances inspired by my travels to France and Spain.
When I was an undergraduate student, I lived in Normandy for a summer, and I was fascinated by the Viking influence of that region of France. It was the inspiration for the new Viking historical romance/paranormal fantasy series I am currently writing. It’s exciting to delve into Norse mythology and blend it with actual historical events from 10th-century Normandy. Can’t wait to see this new Viking series in print!
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Title The Wild Rose and the Sea Raven
Author Jennifer Ivy Walker
Genre medieval romance paranormal fantasy
Publisher The Wild Rose Press
Book Blurb
Mirror, mirror, on the lake. Reveal the path the queen will take.
In this dark fairy tale adaptation of a medieval French legend, Issylte must flee the wicked queen, finding shelter with a fairy witch who teaches her the verdant magic of the forest. Fate leads her to the otherworldly realm of the Lady of the Lake and the Elves of Avalon, where she must choose between her life as a healer or fight to save her ravaged kingdom.
Tristan of Lyonesse is a Knight of the Round Table who must overcome the horrors of his past and defend his king or lose everything. When he becomes a warrior of the Tribe of Dana, a gift of Druidic magic might hold the key he seeks.
Haunted and hunted. Entwined by fate. Can their passion and power prevail?
Excerpt
He opened the brilliant blue eyes that she’d seen in the vision.
As she gazed into them, she felt the earth tilt, her heart racing, her bearings lost. In the depths of his eyes, she glimpsed a fountain in a forest. The turquoise waters of the ocean. An underground well encased by sacred stones. She, the forest fairy, was immersed in the blue waters of the warrior’s eyes, the waves emanating from him flowing through her, cleansing her. Beckoning her.
In Tristan’s eyes, Issylte glimpsed a black bird—a sea raven--soaring over an open sea, hovering now before her. A small dove fluttered in her breast, called forth from her soul. White wings extended from her arms as she took flight, rising into the azure sky alongside the black seabird-- -floating together through the diaphanous clouds scattered over the turquoise ocean.
In the breadth of a second, Issylte felt herself bound to this warrior, the Blue Knight of Cornwall, as if fate had indeed brought them together. Through the windows of his eyes, she peered into his soul, her own blending with his, as if they were the forest and the ocean, encircled now within the three layers of protective stones, the holy trinity of sacred elements of the Goddess.
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub)
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/~/e/B0B91R2MJZ
Author Biography
Enthralled with legends of medieval knights and ladies, dark fairy tales and fantasies about Druids, wizards and magic, Jennifer Ivy Walker always dreamed of becoming a writer. She fell in love with French in junior high school, continuing her study of the language throughout college, eventually becoming a high school teacher and college professor of French.
As a high school teacher, she took her students every year to the annual French competition, where they performed a play she had written, "Yseult la Belle et Tristan la Bête"--an imaginative blend of the medieval French legend of "Tristan et Yseult" and the fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast", enhanced with fantasy elements of a Celtic fairy and a wicked witch.
Her debut novel, "The Wild Rose and the Sea Raven"--the first of an award-winning trilogy-- is a blend of her love for medieval legends, the romantic French language, and paranormal fantasy. It is a retelling of the medieval French romance of "Tristan et Yseult", interwoven with Arthurian myth, dark fairy tales from the enchanted Forest of Brocéliande, and otherworldly elements such as Avalonian Elves, Druids, forest fairies and magic.
Explore her realm of Medieval French Fantasy. She hopes her novels will enchant you.
Social Media Links
Website: https://jenniferivywalker.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bohemienneivy
Title Flames of Flamenco
Author Jennifer Ivy Walker
Genre steamy contemporary romance novella
Publisher The Wild Rose Press
Book Blurb
In Montmartre, the bohemian heart of Paris, Ella meets an intriguing artist who sketches portraits on the trendy Place du Tertre and dances flamenco at the local tablao. As Jean-Luc introduces her to the secret delights of the City of Light, Ella becomes his Muse, the passion they share inspiring and igniting his art and his dance.
When he melts her frozen heart, she decides to remain in Paris and live with him, sharing his atelier as she designs and creates chic couture.
But a beautiful, beguiling curator invites Jean-Luc to display his paintings as the featured artist in the upcoming L’Art de la Danse exhibit, and the lure of international fame threatens his future with Ella.
Will jealousy and greed extinguish their passion, or will the flames of flamenco endure?
Excerpt
As she wandered among the tourists, watching profiles emerge on canvas, deciding who she would choose to sketch her portrait as a souvenir for this most memorable summer, one artist caught her eye.
And took her breath away.
Thick, glossy, black hair cascaded down his back. Sinuous tattoos snaked up either side of his muscular neck, slithering from beneath the snug black tee-shirt molded to the sculpted biceps of his long, athletic arms. A mustache and several days’ worth of dark stubble joined the trim beard which outlined his chiseled jawline and clefted chin.
A ripple of desire shivered up Ella’s spine.
He must have sensed her watching him, for he looked up from his work to gaze across la Place du Tertre.
Their eyes met, and Ella was transfixed.
An irresistible aura of mystery and passion exuded from his every pore. He flashed her a glorious, dazzling grin.
Her knees nearly buckled from the blinding impact.
Stunned—for she was unused to male attention, let alone captivating charm—it took a moment before she smiled back. I want him to sketch me. And melt me with that scorching smile.
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Title Amour in Avignon
Author Jennifer Ivy Walker
Genre steamy contemporary romance novella
Publisher The Wild Rose Press
Book Blurb
Adrift and lonely, Lily Greene travels to Provence to spend the summer with her aunt in the sunny south of France. In the vibrant city of Avignon, she meets Ludo and Auguste, two expert fencers who are also local actors performing in the upcoming Festival of Theater where they will present the classical tragedy, Cyrano de Bergerac.
When Lily joins their thespian troupe, portraying the lead female role, she discovers that real life mirrors the play they are rehearsing, for--just as Cyrano and Christian vie for Roxane-- Ludo and Auguste become intense rivals for Lily.
Handsome as a Hollywood movie star, Auguste is used to women falling into his bed. But when Lily spurns his amorous advances, drawn instead to the enigmatic Ludo, jealousy drives Auguste to seek revenge.
Will tragedy strike with a cruel twist of fate? Or will love triumph with Amour in Avignon?
Excerpt
A clean shaven, muscular blond of medium height with a smooth, sculpted chest paused his work to look up at Aggie’s approach. Fair hair gilded in the golden sun, his welcoming grin was as dazzling as the blue eyes which sparkled with reflected light as he rove an appreciative gaze over Lily. Setting his hammer down on a nearby shelf, he hoisted up the faded jeans which had fallen seductively low on his narrow hips. Lily admired the golden fuzz below his navel before quickly averting her eyes.
At his side, a carpenter with huge shoulders, a lanky frame, and long limbs stood to welcome the women. Dark hair covered his tattooed chest and sinewy arms, trailing down his rippled abdomen to disappear into the waistband of his torn, tattered jeans. Long black hair pulled back in a queue, his prominent, aquiline nose was balanced by a square jawline covered with dark stubble. In his deep green eyes, Lily glimpsed intelligence, intensity, and interest. And a simmering sensuality that stirred her very soul.
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Title Winter Solstice in the Crystal Castle
Author Jennifer Ivy Walker
Genre medieval romance
Publisher The Wild Rose Press
Book Blurb
Gabrielle is a flame haired, fire hearted French princess who dreams of becoming a Valkyrie warrior queen like her Viking ancestors from Normandy. Sent to Paris to learn the proper etiquette for a future French queen, she is called home to le Château de Beaufort for a forced marriage to a man she loathes when her father the king’s precarious health takes a sudden turn for the worse.
Chivalrous, solitary knight Sir Bastien de Landuc suffers an impossible love for Gabrielle, the unattainable princess he can never have. Without a title of nobility, he is ineligible to compete in the tournament for her hand in marriage, despite his unparalleled equestrian skills and inimitable swordsmanship.
Yet, Yuletide wishes for a wondrous winter solstice in the glorious Crystal Castle might make impossible dreams come true.
Can the valiant knight win the coveted hand of his Viking Valkyrie?
Excerpt
He loved watching her long red hair billow in the briny wind, sheathed sword strapped at her slender hip, black cloak unfurling like the enormous swan wings of a Valkyrie shield maiden.
Marivée, her fleet footed gray Andalusian, flew across the heathered moors, the horse’s incredible speed a sheer, thrilling delight to the free spirited, flame haired, fire hearted Gabrielle.
Every morning, they zigzagged through the dense woods, racing to the expansive plateau on the peninsular clifftop where—a dozen royal knights standing guard at the edge of the forest—Bastien honed the equestrian and weaponry skills of his princess protégée.
She’d surpassed her previous expertise in the saddle and accuracy with the bow and arrow, yet struggled to regain her precision with the blade. So, after riding and archery, they focused on self-defense moves with the dagger. And offensive attacks with the sword.
Holding her against him as she struggled to break free was agonizing, torturous pleasure. Her intoxicating scent, the feel of her body moving against his, the unbearable desire building more each day…the only way he was able to maintain control was by withdrawing into a sullen, solitary soldier focused solely on battle.
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub)
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/winter-solstice-in-the-crystal-castle-jennifer-ivy-walker/1144031968?ean=2940186024446
Google Books: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Winter_Solstice_in_the_Crystal_Castle/6sAm0AEACAAJ?hl=en