A warm welcome to author Rhys Ford joining us today to talk about her new release “Savior” book 2 in the 415 Ink series.

Rhys introduces us to the book and the series and talks to us about tribal ink.

She also brought a fabulous giveaway for our readers!

Welcome Rhys 🙂

Well, I want to thank everyone for following the blog tour for 415 Ink: Savior! I’m going to use the same intro for every piece in case someone jumps in midway because that way everyone starts off on the same page. So if you’re joining midway, be sure to backtrack and catch the other posts because we’ll be exploring tattoos. Be sure to catch Savior, a second book in the 415 Ink series, on its release date of September 18!

 

This has been a crazy series to write and as much as I enjoyed it, it’s always a challenge to bring a fully fleshed character with very real problems to the page. I hope that you read Savior you will fall in love with Mace and be with him on his journey as he in turn falls in love with Rob.

 

Since the tattoo shop, 415 Ink, is such a central heart of the series, I wanted to talk about tattoo symbolism very briefly because there’s a lot of opinions and cultural attachments to certain tattoos. What could be presented on this tour is just a small sampling of what people believe certain images mean and how they connect to the people who choose to wear them on their skin.

 

I’m going to say that tattoos are not for everyone but I do have a hard-core cultural association with them so I’m very fond of tattoos. I feel it is a very personal thing and should be taken seriously because you are going to wear it for the rest of your life. But, I also do believe even the tiniest flash tattoo means something to someone and everyone getting ink should be respected for their choices. Someone’s little flower on an ankle could mean their experiment into pushing themselves to fearlessness or capture memory of something they shared with someone. Not every tattoo needs to be huge or an artistic rendering of the Sistine Chapel. But they should have meaning.

I believe a tattoo should be a piece of yourself the inker draws out of your soul and embellishes on your skin. It should rise up from some part of you to realize its existence.

 

Much like love. And very much like falling in love.

 

So there’s also giveaway! Enter to win a $20 USD gift certificate to an e-tailer of your choice which can include Dreamspinner, Amazon, Starbucks or any place I can send a gift certificate without having to sacrifice a chicken. Just follow the blog’s contest rules to enter!

 

So let’s talk about ink.

Tribal Tattoos

 

Tribal Tattoos were some of the earliest tattoos in human history. In ancient times, tattoos were a functional art form, used to mark tribe membership. In fact, the word tattoo comes from the Polynesian word tatau, which means ‘to mark something.’ These tattoos were also important in ancient medicinal and spiritual rituals, thought to offer unique healing benefits to tribe members.

 

Tribal tattoos grew in popularity in the Western world during the late 80s and became a trademark of Gen X-ers, who often failed to see beyond the trend and style to understand the social and cultural meanings of their tattoos. These designs originated from many different cultures both ancient and present day and were reinterpreted by western artists.

 

Old Celts mainly lived in France, Ireland, and England, and their designs are typically of dogs, humans, birds, interlace, and spiral. This civilization gradually disappeared around the year 1000.

 

Maori tribes from New Zealand had facial and leg tattoos, similar to their wood carvings and based on spiral shapes. Generally a tattoo meant mastering ones’ inner strength.

 

Haida (Indian) tribes from the Northwest coast of America had tattoos mainly about Indian Astrology and was typically of fish, bears, thunderbirds, fish, and beavers. They believed that you took over part of the strength of the animal whose tattoo you wore.

 

The Dayak and Iban from Borneo, located above Indonesia, typically had dragons, scorpions, dogs, flowers, and spirals, and they wore them as proof of their achievements and for protection.

 

Over time, travelers, traders, soldiers, sailors, and even slaves spread the cultures of their tattoos to different places where they were adapted to their new home, and this played a major role in the revival and modernization of tattoos as we know them.

 

Here’s a cheat sheet of some of the more popular designs:

 

Aztec Warrior: a symbol that depicts a heavily-armored warrior god. He represents power, strength, and courage- important traits for warfare.

 

Borneo Dog “Aso”: a dog with a dragon-like body, a significant hunting symbol. These dogs have ambiguous origins, and they freely roam. When they enter someone else’s territory, no one is allowed to shoot them.

 

Haida Bear: a symbol of strength, vitality, and family. This tattoo was thought to bring out a bear’s unique strengths in the person who received the tattoo.

 

Hawaiian Patterns:  Many of the traditional Hawaiian tattoos symbolize a person’s function in society or their specialized skills. There are also symbols to ward off bad luck or to bring good luck when fishing, hunting or going into battle.

 

Maori Pikorua: a symbol which represents the fusing together of two separate things, e.g. two rivers fusing into one ocean.

 

Mayan Totem Eagle: a symbol of an eagle’s profile, with spread wings. It represents power, foresight, and ferocity.

 

Native Indian Circle Symbols: four simple circle symbols, each representing one of the four elements. These also represent the cycling seasons, and the cycle of birth and death.

 

Malaysian and/or Thai Elephant: an intricately designed elephant. This represents a connection to nature, and stands as a symbol of strength, simplicity, and humanity.

 

Savior by Rhys Ford

Published by Dreamspinner Press. Coming September 18, 2019

 

A savior lies in the heart of every good man but sometimes only love can awaken the man inside a savior.

 

The world’s had it out for San Francisco firefighter Mace Crawford from the moment he was born. Rescued from a horrific home life and dragged through an uncaring foster system, he’s dedicated his life to saving people, including the men he calls his brothers. As second-in-command of their knitted-together clan, Mace guides his younger siblings, helps out at 415 Ink, the family tattoo shop, and most of all, makes sure the brothers don’t discover his darkest secrets.

 

It’s a lonely life with one big problem—he’s sworn off love and Rob Claussen, one of 415 Ink’s tattoo artists, has gotten under his skin in the worst way possible.

 

Mace’s world is too tight, too controlled to let Rob into his life — much less his heart — but the brash, Filipino inker is there every time Mace turns around. He can’t let Rob in without shaking the foundations of the life he’s built, but when an evil from his past resurfaces, Mace is forced to choose between protecting his lies or saving the man he’s too scared to love.

 

Dreamspinner Press 

Global Link

Amazon

Rhys Ford is an award-winning author with several long-running LGBT+ mystery, thriller, paranormal, and urban fantasy series and is a two-time LAMBDA finalist with her Murder and Mayhem novels. She is also a 2017 Gold and Silver Medal winner in the Florida Authors and Publishers President’s Book Awards for her novels Ink and Shadows and Hanging the Stars. She is published by Dreamspinner Press and DSP Publications.

 

She’s also quite skeptical about bios without a dash of something personal and really, who doesn’t mention their cats, dog and cars in a bio? She shares the house with Harley, a grey tuxedo with a flower on her face, Badger, a disgruntled alley cat who isn’t sure living inside is a step up the social ladder as well as a ginger cairn terrorist named Gus. Rhys is also enslaved to the upkeep a 1979 Pontiac Firebird and enjoys murdering make-believe people.

 

Rhys can be found at the following locations:

Email: rhysford AT vitaenoir DOT com

Blog: www.rhysford.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/rhys.ford.author

Twitter: @Rhys_Ford

Rhys brought with her a fantastic giveaway!

Have a chance to win a $20 giftcertificate.
a Rafflecopter giveaway