Elise Edmonds's Blog, page 3

Of Legend and Lore: Introducing J.E. Klimov

Welcome to the Of Legend and Lore Blog Tour! Now, J.E. Klimov is no stranger to Magic Writer, as I interviewed her last year about her fantasy debut novel, The Aeonians. So I’m excited to welcome her back again to tell us all about her latest publication, a short story entitled The Charcoal Cat in this anthology of fairy tale retellings.

Elise: Tell us, what inspired your fairy tale retelling?

J.E.: I’ve always been a fan of exploring the lesser known fairy tales or folklore. Familiar with Asian culture, I looked into eastern stories and found a perfect match: a story with cats! I don’t want to give the original title away in case readers want to guess our retellings, but mine is about a “weak” boy with a quirky hobby. I wanted to breath new life into this story and give this character a chance to grow strong!

Elise: I love cats – I think it was an awesome choice of tale! What was the hardest part of writing it?

J.E.:The original story is quite short, and since I like to keep my retellings relatively traditional, I found it challenging to expand.

Elise: What short stories have you written for a JL Anthology?

J.E.:The Guardian’s Secret, in “From the Stories of Old” and

The Fate of Patient Zero, in “Between Heroes and Villains”

Elise: How did this experience differ from your previous anthology stories?

J.E.:The Fate of Patient Zero was the easiest to write because it was a completely original story. Retellings were new to me, and I really struggled with the first one. However, with two short stories under my belt, I felt more confident writing The Charcoal Cat.

Elise: What other fairy tale would you like to rewrite?

J.E.:If the Just-Us-League were to do another fairy tale anthology, I’d probably continue my tradition of finding lesser known stories. However, if I were to pick one off the top of my head, I would choose “The Ballad of Mulan” aka. “Mulan”.

Elise: Good choice! Do you prefer a HEA?

J.E.:In both reading and writing, I enjoy a happily ever after. There’s nothing wrong with that, even if many people blast it for being “cliche”. However, lately I’ve been intrigued by not-so-happy endings. I’m at a point where I care more about how the ending is executed versus whether the ending itself is “happy” or “sad”.

Elise: I’m a fan of happy endings myself, but I do like a well done bittersweet ending. How do you combat writer’s block?

J.E.:I don’t have that magic cure, so I just have a checklist. First, I will either play Legend of Zelda (if I’m writing fantasy) or skim through my journals (for anything else). Even if my writing has NOTHING similar to these things, nostalgia tends to move me to write. When all else fails, I find a quiet spot, buy a coffee, put on headphones, and force myself to write- no matter what kind of crap it is.

Elise: Yeah, editing will always sort it out once you have words on the page. Are your a “pantser” or “plotter”?

J.E.:Mostly a pantser. When writing my debut novel, I was all over the place. The story developed as I wrote. I had no direction- I let the events and my characters drive the plot. However, in subsequent works, I have taken the time to create character bios and a general outline so I remain consistent.

Elise: That sounds very much like my own system. I didn’t have a clue at first but I’m slowly becoming more organised with my planning. What’s your favourite original fairy tale?

J.E.:The Little Mermaid. It’s so tragic. I have such sympathy for her in the Hans Christian Andersen version over the Disney version (although I still like the Disney adaptation).

Elise: Favourite adapted fairy tale?

J.E.:Mulan, the Disney movie. I know I said I wanted to retell this one. I enjoy the original, but Disney did such a good job with this. The scene where she cuts her hair and dresses in uniform brings me to tears each time.

Elise: I’m embarrassed to say I’ve never seen Mulan! I will rectify this at some point. If you could meet one author, alive or dead, who would it be?

J.E.:Agatha Christie. Although I dabble in fantasy and science fiction, I admire her to no end. I love “And Then There Were None” and “Murder on the Orient Express”. She is a talented author and an amazing woman. I like her quote: “Very few of us are what we seem.”

Elise: Oh, nice. I’m an Agatha Christie fan too, although it’s been a while since I’ve read any. What is your non-writer alter-ego (aka day job)?

J.E.:I’m a pharmacist. Aka. a person with a doctorate yet gets treated like irritating gnat that knows nothing but to count pills in sets of five.

Elise: What is your spirit animal?

J.E.:Although I love the feline family, my spirit animal is likely a hawk. I love to spread my wings (because I was never able to when I was younger), proud (but hopefully not too proud!), fast, and fiercely protective over my nest- friends, family, etc.

Elise: Who is the biggest supporter of your writing?

J.E.:I’ve always been discouraged from writing and drawing. Even when I starting publishing, I didn’t receive the support I thought I was going to have- but no, this is no sob story. I have two huge supporters: a friend named Becky and my writer’s group on Scribophile. Both are positive forces and believe in me. THANK YOU :’)

Elise: Aw, glad you have some friends behind you! What is the biggest obstacle to your writing? 

J.E.:I have two: time and awkward sentence phrasing haha. The first is pretty self explanatory. I have multiple responsibilities that takes priority– no matter what. I do what I can though. Awkward sentence phrasing: I can’t write beautiful flowing sentences! I’m a science nerd! So, sometimes sentence structure comes off rigid. I’m working on that.

Elise: What other projects are you working on?

J.E.:I’m writing the final instalment of the Aeonians trilogy- a YA fantasy that was 15 years in the making. I’m looking into other genres, but it’s too early to tell. But one thing is for sure: you’ll see me in another volume of Just-Us League anthologies!

Elise: Great, we’ll look forward to that! And finally – Oxford comma, yes or no?

J.E.:Yes. Always have and always will.

 

Elise: Thanks for joining me today.

 

Buy your copy of Of Legend and Lore today!

 

 

J.E. Klimov grew up in a small suburb in Massachusetts. After graduating from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, she obtained her PharmD and became a pharmacist; however, her true passion was writing and illustration.

Ever since Klimov was little, she dreamed of sharing her stories with the world. From scribbling p

lotlines instead of taking notes in school, to bringing her characters to life through sketches, Klimov’s ideas ranged from fantasy to thriller fiction. The Aeonians is her debut novel with Silver Leaf Books. Stay tuned for news on her sequel, The Shadow Warrior, by following her blog.

Follow J. E. Klimov: Facebook, Twitter, Website

Published works: The Aeonians (Fantasy), JL Anthology Vol. 1, JL Anthology Vol. 2

 

The post Of Legend and Lore: Introducing J.E. Klimov appeared first on Magic Writer.

Of Legend and Lore Release Day!

Finally, Of Legend and Lore is here!

CLICK TO BUY ON AMAZON

New life is given to eleven old stories in this second collection of irresistible fairy tale retellings. 

Royalty faces magical challenges: a prince uses his powers on a rescue mission and reveals a terrible secret about his people; a king takes drastic measures to save his daughters from a troublesome curse; and a princess befriends an unusual frog. 

Mythical creatures can be friend or foe: three brothers face a depressed dragon with a legendary treasure; an ancient crow brings a child’s wishes to life; and one young girl discovers dragons aren’t always the enemy. 

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes: a miser is in danger of losing everything one cold night; a struggling mirrorsmith meets an invisible recluse; a boy must relive the fairy tale based on his ancestor’s life; a child is rejected because of his love of drawing cats; and an evil witch is sealed in a glass coffin. 

Be transported to new worlds and enjoy fresh twists on old favorites.

 

The Firestone

My own story, The Firestone, features in this anthology.

When peasant girl Katya finds a secret treasure guarded by dragons, she uses her newfound wealth to reach Lord Korin’s heart, only to discover that his father stands in their way. Can her dragon friends help her find true love, or will Katya lose all that’s dear to her?

My story is based on the well-known Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale, The Tinderbox.

In The Tinderbox, a soldier returning from war gains unlimited treasure from an old witch. The treasure is guarded by three giant dogs with different-sized eyes:

 Then he opened the first door. “Ah!” there sat the dog, with the eyes as large as teacups, staring at him. – The Tinderbox

The soldier uses the treasure to wed the princess in a nearby town. In all honesty, the soldier is not a very pleasant character in this tale, and so when I retold it, I had to make sure my main character was likeable.

I started my retelling by thinking….. what if the dogs were dragons?

And so it began. Instead of a soldier, my main character is a poor peasant girl, unloved by her family, disabled in an accident, who comes across a great treasure. All she wants is to catch the eye of the local lord’s son – and this wealth together with her new dragon friends gives her the opportunity to do so.

Throughout the story, I have a theme of fire. It came out naturally, from the dragon’s breathing fire, to Katya’s disability being caused by a fire, to the need for fire to keep them alive, to a magical stone of power which is used to create fire (like a tinderbox).

I’ve always wanted to write about dragons, as they are my favourite fantasy creature, so this is a great way to share my first foray into dragon writing with you all. Be assured, it certainly won’t be the last time I write about dragons!

I’m excited to share this tale, and it’s only one of the eleven great stories in this anthology volume. I can personally vouch for them and say that if you enjoy a fairy tale you will enjoy this new take on old favourites.

Happy reading!

 

The post Of Legend and Lore Release Day! appeared first on Magic Writer.

Introducing Of Legend & Lore: Cover Reveal!

I’m excited to share the following cover reveal with you all! My short story, The Firestone, will be included in the next JL Anthology: Of Legend and Lore. 

This lovely cover was designed by Louis Rakovich, cover designer at Indigo Forest Designs:

New life is given to eleven old stories in this second collection of irresistible fairy tale retellings.

Royalty faces magical challenges: a prince uses his powers on a rescue mission and reveals a terrible secret about his people; a king takes drastic measures to save his daughters from a troublesome curse; and a princess befriends an unusual frog.

Mythical creatures can be friend or foe: three brothers face a depressed dragon with a legendary treasure; an ancient crow brings a child’s wishes to life; and one young girl discovers dragons aren’t always the enemy.

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes: a miser is in danger of losing everything one cold night; a struggling mirrorsmith meets an invisible recluse; a boy must relive the fairytale based on his ancestor’s life; a child is rejected because of his love of drawing cats; and an evil witch is sealed in a glass coffin.

Be transported to new worlds and enjoy fresh twists on old favorites.

As with our previous anthologies, each story is accompanied by an image drawn by our illustrator, Heidi Hayden. Rowanwood Publishing is releasing Of Legend and Lore on February 26th, which is one of our favorite holidays—Tell a Fairy Tale Day!

 

Later in the month I’ll be sharing more details about my story. If you want to know more details about the other authors in this volume, then follow the blog tour, which kicked off earlier this week on the Just-Us League website with an interview of B.C. Marine. And the rest of the schedule is as follows:

Blog Tour Schedule

Allie May hosts Matthew Dewar — 8th February

J.E. Klimov hosts Kelsie Engen — 13th February

Louise Ross hosts M.T. Wilson — 16th February

Heather Hayden hosts Allie May– 19th February

Kelsie Engen hosts Renee Frey — 20th February

RELEASE DAY — 26th February

M.T. Wilson hosts Sam Waterhouse — 1st March

Kristen Kooistra hosts Louise Ross — 2nd March

Elise Edmonds hosts J.E. Klimov — 7th March

J.E. Klimov hosts Heather Hayden — 9th March

Allie May hosts Elise Edmonds — 12th March

 

Look forward to seeing you there!

 

The post Introducing Of Legend & Lore: Cover Reveal! appeared first on Magic Writer.

Blog Tour: The Last Motley

Welcome to the virtual book tour for The Last Motley by Grace Award nominated author DJ Edwardson.

To celebrate the book’s release the digital version is being offered at the special discounted price of 99 cents, now through February 17th. In addition, you’re invited to come along on a virtual treasure hunt visiting some of the places featured in the novel. And to help you along your journey, we’re giving away a few prizes, too. So how ’bout them apples?

Today’s stop is:

Middlehelm

The capital of Brackenland, the central province of the Halicon Empire is more fortress than city. The coal black basalt ramparts rise up from the banks of the river Fallowing to the north. A second wall stands a hundred paces beyond the outer one, nearly as imposing as the first. To the east and west, rugged cliffs protect the city’s flanks, making the only viable assault trajectory from the south, an unlikely scenario unless the Empire itself has been already overrun.

There is something ancient and ponderous about the stonework. The thick, rounded columns, massive buttresses, and stout towers form a living architectural mountain seemingly as ancient as the dawn.

A central tower climbs defiantly from within the keep, its five thin spires piercing the sky like giant bodkins, daring the wooly clouds to come and rip themselves open should they pass too close. They stare vigilantly over the burgundy rooftops of long lateral buildings surrounding the castle.

As impressive as the defenses are, they have not been tested for over a hundred years. These days Castle Middlehelm serves more as a base for patrolling the surrounding lands and keeping barbarians and bandits in check.

We hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into the world of Arinn. If this taste has you curious, be sure to check out the full length novel set in this world.

This unique tale is not your typical fantasy novel, Yes, you’ll find monsters, dungeons, harrowing escapes, magic portals, a humor, an ancient artifact, and much more but above all This is the story about the importance of family, faith, and the courage to do the right thing.

Here’s the official teaser:

The Last Motley

Motleys. Candy-colored creatures with dark powers to drain the souls of men. That’s what Roderick always thought. Until he met one. Now he’s not so sure. But with seemingly everyone in the province hunting the motley down, he must quickly decide which side he’s on.

Is the motley the living nightmare the legends say? Or just a child cursed by magic? Should Roderick save him from an awful fate, or turn him in? Either way, it seems like everyone wants to make sure that this will indeed be the last motley.

Be one of the first to read this unique and original fantasy novel, available now for the first time in digital format at the following online locations:

 

 

Amazon.com
iBookstore
Barnes & Noble
Kobo books
Smashwords
Amazon UK

Treasures along the way

As you follow along on this virtual tour of Arinn, be sure to enter the giveaway to make your journey a little easier. Maybe you’ll be one of the ones to find treasure at journey’s end.

Here’s what we’re giving away:

A lovely leather journal, an autographed copy of The Last Motley, and a coloring book from the Chronicles of Narnia

You can use the journal to record your travels, the novel as your guide, and the coloring book to, well…for those rainy days when you’re stuck in the inn!

PLEASE NOTE: By entering the giveaway you agree to receive occasional email updates about DJ Edwardson’s releases, sales and book reviews. He will not share your email for any reason and you can unsubscribe at any time. Entries accepted until February 23rd.

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Enter the Giveaway
Email Address

Now if you’re feeling especially adventurous, there is a separate giveaway for the truly dedicated treasure hunters among you. All you have to do is collect ALL TWELVE location names on the tour (e.g. if this were for Middle-earth the answers might be Rivendell, The Shire, Mordor, Gondor, etc – basically we’re looking for the names of the places featured on each of the maps at every stop).

Once you’ve got them all, send them to:

THIS EMAIL ADDRESS

will be entered in a drawing to win this one-of-a-kind poster of the World of Arinn. Measuring 36″X24″ it is nearly movie poster size, printed on thick, glossy paper, and suitable for framing. In addition, the map will be signed by the author. This is a prize you won’t find anywhere else!

(actual photo) It’s even more impressive in person. It’s huge!

You will not be added to the email list for this drawing. Entries accepted until February 23rd as well.

Winners for both contests will be contacted within three days of the closing of the contests.

The journey continues

There are many stops along this virtual tour. Be sure to check them all out.

Feb 6
E.E. Rawls


Feb 7
Angel Leya


Feb 8
Elise Edmonds


Feb 9
Jennette L. Mbewe


Feb 10
Jess Elliot


Feb 11
Rachael Ritchey


Feb 12
Deborah O’Carroll


Feb 13
Karlie Lucas


Feb 14
Abbey Stellingwerff


Feb 15
Jenelle Leanne Schmidt


Feb 16
Jessica Groom


Feb 17
Steven Moore

 

Thanks for joining us on this journey!

The post Blog Tour: The Last Motley appeared first on Magic Writer.

The Elements of Dystopian Fiction

I’ve been a fan of dystopian novels ever since I read The Handmaid’s Tale as a teenager. That was over twenty years ago. Back then, reading dystopian meant picking up the old classics like 1984 and Brave New World. But in recent times, books like The Hunger Games have sparked a revival of the genre and made it popular.

What are Dystopian novels?

Dystopia is classified as part of the science fiction genre. Now, I normally talk about fantasy on this blog, but dystopian often overlaps with elements of paranormal or fantasy, and always involves a very specific world set up. So it has traits in common with other fantasy genres.

A dystopia is a fictional place in which everything is unpleasant. Typically these places are run by dictatorships, totalitarian governments or oligarchies. Often, the environment and living conditions will be poor.

A dystopian novel takes a dystopian system as its setting and introduces the protagonist as a character living and developing within the constraints of this world.

Examples of dystopian settings

In 1984, the country (a futuristic fictionalised Britain) is run by Big Brother, a dictator. The Party enforces the will of Big Brother. Continual warfare keeps living conditions poor. There is no privacy, and the thought police will eventually capture any Party member who rebels.

In The Hunger Games, the Capitol controls the surrounding 13 districts by forcing them to provide children to fight to the death in an annual competition. Living conditions are poor and communication is not allowed between districts.

In The Handmaid’s Tale, fertile woman involved in so called ‘illicit relationships’ are forced by a religious state to provide children for married women rendered infertile by radiation. The Handmaids are kept under strict control and spend a lot of time in isolation.

Common Elements and Tropes of Dystopian Novels

A main character who hates the system and wishes it were different.
Outward conformity to the system by the character’s friends and family, serving to isolate the main character.
A chance encounter with something that makes the character think the society is not all it seems to be.
The character then explores this opportunity – and finds a fellow dissenter and/or a mentor figure.
The remainder of the novel then explores the character either escaping the dystopian system, or bringing the system down, or finding it futile to attempt to bring the system down.
Some novels also explore the breakdown of the dystopia and the aftermath.

Aren’t dystopian novels really depressing?

I’ll admit there’s an element of truth to this. Reading about people living in a miserable society can bring you down. However, as with all speculative fiction books, dystopia is about escapism and immersing yourself in another world. Many dystopian novels carry a theme of hope or change in them – they show it is possible to break a system, it is possible for the little guy to win, and it’s good to stand up for what’s right.

However, on the flip side, dystopian novels act as a warning. For example, if public privacy is compromised by government surveillance, you will hear people refer to ‘Big Brother’ – straight out of 1984. These books show us situations that are wrong, and excess of control that is wrong, and helps us to identify when things may be going wrong in the real world. Perhaps they will help us improve our sense of social justice and our awareness of the effect of certain styles of government.

My recommendations

I’ve read an awful lot of dystopians over the years, many different styles and from many different eras. So here are my personal favourites:

Wool

In a ruined and toxic future, a community exists in a giant silo underground, hundreds of stories deep. There, men and women live in a society full of regulations they believe are meant to protect them. Sheriff Holston, who has unwaveringly upheld the silo’s rules for years, unexpectedly breaks the greatest taboo of all: He asks to go outside.

The Maze Runner

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers–boys whose memories are also gone. Outside the towering stone walls that surround them is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out–and no one’s ever made it through alive.

1984

1984 has come and gone, but George Orwell’s prophetic, nightmare vision in 1949 of the world we were becoming is timelier than ever. “1984” is still the great modern classic “negative Utopia” – a startling original and haunting novel that creates an imaginary world that is completely convincing from the first sentence to the last four words. No one can deny this novel’s power, its hold on the imagination of whole generations, or the power of its admonitions – a power that seems to grow, not lessen, with the passage of time.

The Hunger Games

Set in a dark vision of the near future, a terrifying reality TV show is taking place. Twelve boys and twelve girls are forced to appear in a live event called The Hunger Games. There is only one rule: kill or be killed. When sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen steps forward to take her younger sister’s place in the games, she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.

Never Let Me Go

A devastating new novel of innocence, knowledge, and loss. As children Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy were students at Hailsham, an exclusive boarding school secluded in the English countryside. It was a place of mercurial cliques and mysterious rules where teachers were constantly reminding their charges of how special they were. Now, years later, Kathy is a young woman. Ruth and Tommy have reentered her life. And for the first time she is beginning to look back at their shared past and understand just what it is that makes them special–and how that gift will shape the rest of their time together.

This Perfect Day

The story is set in a seemingly perfect global society. Uniformity is the defining feature; there is only one language and all ethnic groups have been eugenically merged into one race called “The Family.” The world is ruled by a central computer called UniComp that has been programmed to keep every single human on the surface of the earth in check. People are continually drugged by means of regular injections so that they can never realize their potential as human beings, but will remain satisfied and cooperative. They are told where to live, when to eat, whom to marry, when to reproduce. even the basic facts of nature are subject to the UniComp’s will–men do not grow facial hair, women do not develop breasts, and it only rains at night.

The Handmaid’s Tale

Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the days before, when she lived and made love with her husband Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now….

Blind Faith

Imagine a world where everyone knows everything about everybody. Where ‘sharing’ is valued above all, and privacy is considered a dangerous perversion. Trafford wouldn’t call himself a rebel, but he’s daring to be different, to stand out from the crowd. In his own small ways, he wants to push against the system. But in this world, uniformity is everything. And even tiny defiances won’t go unnoticed.

 

Let me know in the comments what your favourite dystopian novel is!

The post The Elements of Dystopian Fiction appeared first on Magic Writer.

My 2018 Reading Challenge

This post should really be titled, “Books I intend to prioritise reading in 2018 but probably won’t get through more than half of, if I’m lucky.” But that’s not a very catchy title!

As I was making this list, more and more things I wanted to read kept catching my eye. That’s the problem with reading. It leads to more reading!

This list is all the books off last year’s challenge that I didn’t finish, plus a few more recommendations from friends, plus sequels of books I read last year, and other books I noted on Goodreads throughout the year as wanting to read.

Consequently, it’s a list of 57 books. However, I am going to make this list more of a priority than I ended up doing with last year’s list–I’m determined! I probably won’t review many on the blog this year, but you can always keep up with my progress on Goodreads. I’ll be making a new Goodreads bookshelf for this list.

Without further ado, here is the list:

General classics that I want to read but have never got around to:

The Old Man and the Sea – Ernest Hemingway

Indie authors who made it big and were taken on by traditional publishers:

Switched – Amanda Hocking

Something that sounded intriguing but that I shall probably regret:

Infinite Jest – David Foster Wallace

An American writer I’d never heard of before becoming friends with Americans online, and they all go on and on about him:

Slaughterhouse-Five – Kurt Vonnegut

Cat’s Cradle – Kurt Vonnegut

Classic fantasy that everyone else seems to have read and I haven’t:

The Eye of the World – Robert Jordan

The Final Empire – Brandon Sanderson

A Wizard of Earthsea – Ursula K Le Guin

The City of Ember – Jeanne DuPrau

Assassin’s Apprentice – Robin Hobb

The Book of Three – Lloyd Alexander

Books rated highly on lists of best fantasy books:

The Magicians – Lev Grossman

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell – Susannah Clarke

The Amulet of Samarkand – Jonathan Stroud

The Thief of Always – Clive Barker

The Power – Naomi Alderman

The Book of Dust – Philip Pullman

Other fantasy books recommended by friends that sound good:

The Crystal Cave – Mary Stewart

Hades Daughter – Sara Douglass

Bloodlines – Richelle Mead

Keeper of the Lost Cities – Shannon Messenger

The Goose Girl – Shannon Hale

Ella Enchanted – Gail Carson Levine

Peter and the Starcatchers – Dave Barry

Magic Bites – Ilona Andrews

The Fire Rose – Mercedes Lackey

The Library at Mount Char – Scott Hawkins

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – John Tiffany

Colonization – Aubrie Dionne

The Girl who Drank the Moon – Kelly Barnhill

Bitter Greens – Kate Forsyth

Redemption – Tora Moon

The Temptation of Dragons – Chrys Cymri

Ghost Hand – Ripley Patton

Continuations of series I’m currently reading:

Frostbite – Richelle Mead (Vampire Academy #2)

Shift – Hugh Howey (Wool #2)

Dust – Hugh Howey (Wool #3)

Words of Radiance – Brandon Sanderson (Stormlight Archive #2)

Oathbringer – Brandon Sanderson (Stormlight Archive #3)

Red Seas under Red Skies – Scott Lynch (Gentleman Bastards #2)

The Republic of Thieves – Scott Lynch (Gentleman Bastards #3)

Hero – Laura Frances (Slave #2)

Skybreaker – Kenneth Oppel (Matt Cruse #2)

Other books I just want to read:

Senlin Ascends – Josiah Bancroft

The Thief who Pulled on Trouble’s Braids – Michael McClung

A Monster Calls – Patrick Ness

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children – Ransom Riggs

The Songweaver’s Vow – Laura VanArendonk Bough

The Waterfall Traveller – SJ Lem

Sufficiently Advanced Magic – Andrew Rowe

The Aeonians – JE Klimov

Books with an Arabian Theme:

The Hidden Stairs and the Magic Carpet – Tony Abbott

The Desert of Souls – Howard Andrew Jones

The Wrath and the Dawn – Renee Ahdieh

Rebel of the Sands – Alwyn Hamilton

A Thousand Nights – EK Johnston

Aladdin Relighted – JR Rain

 

What’s on your reading list this year?

The post My 2018 Reading Challenge appeared first on Magic Writer.

Reading Challenge 2017 Results!

At the beginning of the year, I made some reading challenges for 2017. I had a general challenge of 80 Goodreads books, and a specific list of 38 books that I wanted to read. During the year, I decided that 80 books was going to be too easy so I upgraded the challenge to 100 books.

And I completed my 100 books earlier this month! To see the full list, check out my Goodreads Reading Challenge page. However, I decided that doing a challenge like that has a downside–basically, it encouraged me to read shorter, easier books to reach my goal. Consequently, quite a lot of the longer books I want to read got put to one side. So I shall take this into account when I set a reading goal for next year. I like the Goodreads challenge because it counts my books, but I’ll be picking a much lower goal.

Now for the specific books. I didn’t really do too well on this because I kept getting sidetracked by other books. And then I also found that because I’d decided to review every single book on this list, I was procrastinating about reading them. So that’s another point to bear in mind. In the end, I gave myself permission not to review them if I didn’t feel the urge. The remaining books on this list will be carried forward to next year’s challenge, and next year, I will only review the occasional book on my blog.

General classics that I want to read but have never got around to:

Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens: Read and reviewed – 4* (I read this with my writer friend Kristen Kooistra)
The Fault in our Stars – John Green: Read – 5* (This was such an amazing read–I didn’t really have the words to describe it)
The Call of Cthulhu – HP Lovecraft: Read and reviewed – 5* (I persuaded my husband, a horror fan, to read this – he wasn’t impressed as he didn’t enjoy the distant style of narrative)

The Old Man and the Sea – Ernest Hemingway: Not read

Indie authors who made it big and were taken on by traditional publishers:

Wool – Hugh Howey: Read and reviewed – 5* (The sequels will be going on next year’s list!)

The Martian – Andy Weir: Read and reviewed – 5* (Also watched the movie – enjoyed that too)

Switched – Amanda Hocking: Not read

Something that sounded intriguing but that I shall probably regret:

Infinite Jest – David Foster Wallace: Bought but not read

An American writer I’d never heard of before becoming friends with Americans online, and they all  go on and on about him:

Slaughterhouse-Five – Kurt Vonnegut: Bought but not read
Cat’s Cradle – Kurt Vonnegut: Bought but not read

Classic fantasy that everyone else seems to have read and I haven’t:

The Sword in the Stone – TH White: Read and reviewed – 3* (But worth reading just because it’s a classic)
Eragon – Christopher Paolini: Read and reviewed – 4* (Also read the sequel and gave it 3*, but the series seemed to be a downwards spiral so I won’t be reading further)
The Way of Kings – Brandon Sanderson: Read and reviewed – 5* (This is probably my favourite read of the year – I’ll be putting the second book on next year’s list)
American Gods – Neil Gaiman: Read and reviewed – DNF (My only DNF on this list so far. I don’t really enjoy Gaiman’s passive protagonists)

Outlander – Diana Gabaldon: Read and reviewed – 4.5* (Probably won’t invest time in further books in this series, because although I enjoyed it, it was very long)

The Eye of the World – Robert Jordan: Bought but not read

The Final Empire – Brandon Sanderson: Bought but not read

A Wizard of Earthsea – Ursula K Le Guin: Not read

The City of Ember – Jeanne DuPrau: Not read

Books rated highly on lists of best fantasy books:

The Lies of Locke Lamora – Scott Lynch: Read and reviewed – 5* (Haven’t decided if I’m reading a sequel yet)

The Magicians – Lev Grossman: Bought but not read
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell – Susannah Clarke: Not read
The Amulet of Samarkand – Jonathan Stroud: Not read
The Thief of Always – Clive Barker: Not read

Other fantasy books recommended by friends that sound good:

Green Rider – Kristen Britain: Read and reviewed 4* (A good solid fantasy but I didn’t feel it offered anything new)

The Crystal Cave – Mary Stewart: Bought but not read

Hades Daughter – Sara Douglass: Not read
Bloodlines – Richelle Mead: Not read
Keeper of the Lost Cities – Shannon Messenger: Not read
The Goose Girl – Shannon Hale: Not read
Ella Enchanted – Gail Carson Levine: Not read
Peter and the Starcatchers – Dave Barry: Not read
Magic Bites – Ilona Andrews: Not read
The Fire Rose – Mercedes Lackey: Not read
The Library at Mount Char – Scott Hawkins: Not read
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – John Tiffany: Not read

Continuations of series I’m currently reading:

StarChaser – Angie Sage (TodHunter Moon #3): Read and reviewed – 4* (The final book in the current Septimus Heap universe)

Frostbite – Richelle Mead (Vampire Academy #2): Not read

So in total, I read 13/38 (34%) and purchased another 6. Not great! But I did read lots of other books…

Finally, I want to highlight the Top 5 Indie Books I read this year:

Shift by Rikkaine Thompson

Urban fantasy with a dash of dystopian. Property of the Institute, genetically-altered Noah knows nothing of his inherent abilities. Barren walls, endless drills, and brutal missions are no way of life, and he longs for meaning outside the confines of the Institute.

As seventeen-year-old Alyson Gale prepares for college to follow her dream of becoming an animator, her greatest concern is leaving her best friend, Fletcher, behind. On the cusp of something good, her life changes in the worst way possible.

Trust is buried beneath layers of deceit and mimicry and Aly is exposed to the secrets of the Faceless.

Ultimate Nyssa Glass by H.L. Burke

Young adult steampunk – five Nyssa Glass adventures in a single volume. Nyssa Glass is a reformed cat burglar turned electrician’s apprentice, settled into a life repairing videophones and radio-sets. However, when her past comes calling, she finds herself on the run for a murder she did not commit. As her quiet life goes up in sparks, she must face killer robots, menacing villains, and sarcastic computers in a race for survival. Nyssa has her hands full just trying to stay one step ahead of the police, but she still has time for adventure, humor, and even a taste of romance.

Slave by Laura Frances

Young adult dystopian. There is no sun. There is no moon. There is only gray—the smog belched from coal-fueled factories. The Workers silently shuffle to their assigned posts. The Outcasts watch from the alley walls. On every corner, a Watcher stands stone-faced, a rifle in hand. This is the only life that exists. Beyond the mountains is a dream. But dreams are foolish in a place like this. Hannah has spent nineteen years dodging Watchers and doing as she is told. But when she wakes to the valley exploding in revolution, Hannah is forced onto a dangerous path, where nothing is what she believed. 

Mercy’s Prince by Katy Huth Jones

Young adult fantasy. As second son of the King of Levathia, seventeen-year-old Valerian desires the quiet life of a scholarly monk. But when he fails to save his older brother in battle, Valerian must instead become crown prince. While a traitorous knight schemes against him, Valerian meets Mercy, a pacifist Healer with whom he can speak mind-to-mind like the great dragons. Their bond emboldens Valerian to seek out the legendary dragons and ask for their help against the monsters who killed his brother.

The Beast of Talesend by Kyle Robert Shultz

Mix of urban fantasy/detective/fairytale/steampunk. Private eye Nathaniel Beasley lives in a world where fairy tales ended a long time ago – where zeppelins now soar the skies instead of dragons, and where the first automobiles have taken the place of flying carpets. He’s made a name for himself across the Afterlands by debunking fake magicians and exposing fraudulent monsters. This is the modern age, after all. Magic and monsters are long gone. At least, that’s what Nathaniel believes. Until he gets magically transformed into a monster.

 

Let me know in the comments what your favourite read of the year was!

The post Reading Challenge 2017 Results! appeared first on Magic Writer.

2017 Goals – How Did I Do?

At the beginning of 2017, I set myself some goals for the year. They were a little wishy-washy: writing is more of a hobby than a job for me so I like to aim to achieve things but without too much pressure. Otherwise it takes the fun out of it. So let’s see how I did.

 

2017 Goals

“Book One

Publish Book One by the end of February 2017.”

 

Where Carpets Fly was published on 11 February 2017 – goal achieved! And I have learnt a lot about marketing and promotion during the year as well.

 

 

“Book Two

Ideally, I’d like to publish Book Two in late 2017.”

 

This hasn’t happened yet. I’m working on editing the fifth draft right now. It’s been harder than I thought to write in multiple points of view and make every character’s plotline work both on its own and together as a seamless story. Also, writing sequels bring their own challenges such as: how much information do I have to recap? how much additional character development is needed? I’ve been wrestling with these questions and others, but I have high hopes that the book will be out in the first half of 2018. I’m not making any promises though, because writing works to its own timetable!

 

“Book Three

I’d like to have a decent draft of book three by the end of the year.”

 

Nope – Book Three is still an outline. Although it’s a better outline that it was at the beginning of the year. Hopefully I’ll make good progress in the coming year.

 

“Other Writing

I plan to do a bit on [Wattpad] in the coming year. I also plan to keep up with this blog, and hope to post a weekly update on what I’m up to, and one other article every week.”

 

I posted a complete short story on Wattpad, along with a preview of my novel, and a few chapters of another novel which I haven’t decided if I like enough to continue. I haven’t had much time for socialising on the site though.

 

I’ve been posting on this blog regularly, although I’ve stopped giving weekly updates, because there is only so many times you can say, yep, still editing. I’ve also being posting over at JLwriter.com, my writers’ group website. Take a look!

 

“Reading

I’ve set myself a reading challenge for the year. Aside from that, I want to continue reading YA Fantasy, particularly in the indie world.”

 

I’m saving updates on my reading goals for another post later in the month as I have a lot to report there.

 

I won’t be officially setting 2018 writing goals, but I do have plenty of projects on the go, so stay tuned for updates! Early in the year, I shall have an exciting announcement about fairy tales, which I can’t wait to share…

 

How did your year go?

 

The post 2017 Goals – How Did I Do? appeared first on Magic Writer.

Resource: 54 Stock Photo Websites

When you are a blogger or writer, you may find you need pictures or photographs to include in your work. You should always ensure you are entitled to use the images you choose. Don’t randomly select pictures from Google images, because chances are the image is under copyright. Generally, images with a particular brand (say, a Disney image, or image of a celebrity) or artistic pictures will be copyrighted and you should not use them. It’s possible to get into serious trouble using copyrighted images – rare, admittedly, but not worth the risk.

So, what’s the alternative? Stock photography. There are many websites out there that provide images, either free of charge, or for a small fee, that you can use in your work. If you need blog images, like the one on this post, or images to use on a book cover, these are the kind of sites you want to be checking out. Do ensure that you check the licence carefully on the picture you want. Not all images are available for commercial use or for public sharing.

I use stock photos regularly for blog posts, promotional images, and book cover inspiration, and to that end, I’ve compiled a list of stock photo sites together with a brief description of each site, as a useful resource. Some are free, some charge fees, either per photo or on a subscription basis, and some are a mixture. (Note that royalty-free does not mean the photo itself is free! Royalty-free means there is a one-off payment rather than payment per usage). This list is a mixture of large, commercial sites, medium-sized sites, and the work of individual photographers and bloggers. I have grouped them by pricing category.

Free Stock Photos (great for blogging and promotional images)

1 Million Free Pictures : 1 Million Free Pictures is a repository of thousands of 100% free pictures. No registration required. No fees collected. No annoying watermarks. No accounts needed. Just free pictures. All pictures in this photo blog are in the public domain. The goal of this free photo blog is to provide an alternative source of free images for those who cannot afford to purchase or buy from commercial stock photo websites.
Cupcake : Free original images to use as you want
Death to the Stock Photo : Free monthly photos for all your creative needs. For commercial use, your blog posts, social accounts, and mockups. Aims to be just like coffee for the modern creative. They email you photos – it’s not a searchable website.
DesignerPics.com : This is an initiative from  to provide free photographs to all who are in need. It is an ongoing project and they will keep adding new pictures every month.
Focus Fitness : High Quality Free Stock Images — Get free fitness, weight loss, and food photos.
Foodies Feed : FoodiesFeed is a number one destination for realistic and natural looking images of food. Free pictures.
Free Classic Images : This site is dedicated to bringing the very best free vintage and classic pictures to the Internet. If you are into arts and crafts, scrap booking, decoupage or have another need for great old pictures then here they are, famous paintings, vintage posters, classic pinups, and seasonal images etc.
Free Images (UK) : 18,000+ free Stock photos, 89 searchable categories. You’ll find a library of stock photography for use on websites, printed media, products and anywhere you need a photo to help with illustration and design.
Free Images (.com)  : Nearly 400,000 free photos and illustrations. Free membership. (note: owned by iStock/Getty Images so advertises photos to buy as well)
Free Refe Real Life Photos : Tumblr site with free photos. Check out the archives for available photos.
Good Free Photos : A gallery of thousands of unique and free public domain stock photos. All photos are categorized by location for travel photos, species for animal and plant photos, and types of objects for other photos. All photos are released under the public domain license so you can use the photos for whatever reason you want.
Flickr (Creative Commons Licence) : Many Flickr users have chosen to offer their work under a Creative Commons license, and you can browse or search through content under each type of license.
Freepik.com : Freepik offers users, high quality graphic designs: exclusive illustrations and graphic resources carefully selected by their design team in order to provide users with great content that can be used in both personal and commercial projects.
Free Range  : Freerange Stock was formed with the goal to provide quality stock photos for commercial and non-commercial use. For free. Freerange is an advertising-revenue-supported photographic community – photographers get paid when users click on the ads that appear next to their submissions.
Gratisography  : Free high-resolution pictures you can use on your personal and commercial projects. Click on an image to download the high-resolution version. New pictures added weekly.
IM Free : Selection of free photos and other web design resources
ISO Republic : Provides free stock photos for creative professionals. Since launch, they’ve published over 3,000 CC0 licensed images, with more being added every single week. An independent website that is managed and maintained by a small team of contributors.
Jay Mantri  : Free photos. Blog entries – non-searchable. Nice archives.
Life of Pix  : Free high-resolution photos, no copyright restrictions, images for personal or commercial use. New photos added weekly.
Little Visuals : Blog with nice nature photos. Free. No longer updated with new photos.
Magdeleine  : Hand-picked free photos for inspiration.
MMT : Free photos for commercial use. Use them in your website, themes, templates, projects, print materials, social posts, and more. New photos each week.
Morguefile : (owned by Getty Images) Looking for high-resolution stock photos for your illustration, comp or design needs? Search morgueFile for free reference images. They’re all completely free. whether you’re an illustrator, art director, instructor or looking to add a defining visual to a presentation.
Pexels : Pexels helps designers, bloggers and everyone who is looking for an image to find great photos that you can use everywhere for free.
PicJumbo : Free stock photo site created by in 2013. It all started when stock photo sites didn‘t want the creator’s photos. Two years later people downloaded almost three millions images from this site. Generally, picjumbo users are from the ranks of bloggers, theme developers, marketers, web designers, app designers or even whole design agencies from all around the world.
Pickup Image : A large collection of free photographs. Free download of high-quality premium free stock images and public domain photos.
Picography : Free hi-resolution photos. Use them however you like.
Pixabay : Free images and videos you can use anywhere. All images and videos on Pixabay are released free of copyrights under Creative Commons CC0. You may download, modify, distribute, and use them royalty free for anything you like, even in commercial applications. Attribution is not required. This site is one my favourite for finding blog pictures.
Public Domain Archive : They are a public domain image repository. A site where you come to explore and discover treasures by other great photographers. A place to find inspiration and photography that you can re-use in your creative projects. If you are expecting Shutterstock, you will probably be disappointed. They aren’t trying to re-create the wheel, they are trying to create one place where you can come to be inspired to create something amazing. Explore thousands of high-resolution public domain images.
RGB Stock : Looking for free stock photos for personal use or commercial work? Rgbstock has what you are looking for, with more than 100,000 free stock photos.
Shotstash : New photos for your projects are added every day. No royalties, no fees, no worries. Enjoy !
Skitterphoto : All photos on this website are completely free to use for any purpose. When pictures are published on, they are released into the public domain using creative commons CC0. A credit is appreciated, but not necessary. Pictures on this website are authentic, they are not from other sites. All photos were taken directly by Skitterphoto creators.
Splitshire : Royalty Free Stock Photos and Images for commercial use. Instant download high-quality free stock photos without copyright, do whatever you want. Daily updates.
Stock Free Images : All images downloaded are licensed under the Royalty Free license which means you license the image once and then you can use it as many times as you like, with just a few restrictions. (owned by Dreamstime.) Many images are free. 
Stock Snap  : StockSnap is the best place on the internet to find beautiful free stock photos. We select nothing but the highest quality, highest resolution pictures and add them to our database on a daily basis. All photos uploaded to the site are released under Creative Commons – CC0 and do not require attribution. No more hassle trying to figure out whether you can use photos for commercial use and whether you need to provide attribution. We curate the best stock photos from around the web and we also upload photos from select photographers within our network. The end result is a bad ass repository of beautiful stock photography.
Super Famous : The Superfamous Images are available under the conditions of a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. This means that you can use the work for your own purposes as long as credit is provided. Small selection of beautiful images.
Unsplash : Free unrestricted use high-resolution photos. For 10 new photos every 10 days, subscribe.
Vecteezy : We’re proud to be the largest vector graphics community in the world. Here you can explore and discuss the creations of other artists from around the world, or just find that perfect little freebie for your next project. Vecteezy makes it easy to explore thousands of graphics created by vector artists from all over the globe. Most of the files are free to download and, depending on the license, free to use in your projects.
Viintage : Hundreds of Thousands of Copyright Free Vintage Graphics. Everything you need for your creative projects, all public domain images!
Yeah Stock Photos : Free Stock Photos For Everyone. Yeah! No Royalties. No Attribution. Just Awesome Free Photos.

Low-Priced (great for book covers and more high-profile promotions)

Can Stock Photo (UK Site here) : A royalty-free stock photography agency that believes professional stock images should be affordable and accessible to everyone. Adding over 25,000 top quality images each day from the world’s best photographers and artists. Searching and downloading stock images is refreshingly fast and easy, and you don’t need an account or subscription.
Deposit Photos : A commercial platform that brings authors of high-quality licensed stock photos, graphics, vectors and videos together with appreciative buyers.
Dreamstime : Dreamstime is one of the world leaders in stock photography and a reliable supplier of high-quality digital images at affordable prices. Online since 2000 as a royalty-free stock photography website, Dreamstime has evolved into a powerful and active community-based site. The exquisite stock image gallery you can browse today has been uploaded by photographers from all over the world, shot on film or digital. Free registration.
Fotolia : Fotolia is a world-leading image bank, providing instant access to over 55 million images, vectors, illustrations and video clips, to ensure you’ll always find the one you need.
Fotosearch : Fotosearch is a provider of royalty free and rights managed stock photography, illustrations, maps, video, and audio. They bring together many different stock agencies to provide “The World’s Stock Photography at One Web Site.” The products on Fotosearch can be licensed and easily downloaded for use in advertisements, promotional materials, websites, etc.
Go Graph : GoGraph offers flexible royalty free stock photography, vectors, illustrations, graphics, and stock footage at low prices. Purchase and download stock images immediately. For over 10 years we have helped art directors, graphic designers, corporate advertisers, and freelance designers find high-quality images.
Shutterstock : Shutterstock, a global technology company, has created the largest and most vibrant two-sided marketplace for creative professionals to license content – including images, videos, and music – as well as innovative tools that power the creative process.Over 84 million royalty-free stock images. Over 800,000 new stock images added weekly
Think Stock : (owned by Getty Images) Offers millions of premium art-directed and user-generated royalty-free photos, vectors and illustrations selected from Getty Images, iStock and worldwide image partners. The only stock subscription designed with one goal in mind -– to give you the freedom to focus on being creative. Subscription plans so suitable for high volume users.

Higher-Priced (these sites are aimed at professionals)

Alamy : Over 75 million high-quality stock images, vectors, and videos from the world’s largest stock photo collection. Hassle free – no subscriptions, no credits, no need to register.
First Light : First Light serve their clients through the existing web site, which has now been expanded to include over 7,000,000 images to fulfill almost any image search requirement. First Light represents over 200 of its own photographers, and in combination with Design Pics Canadian based photographers, has the most extensive collection of Canadian content available anywhere. In addition, there are over 50 third party providers to the First Light site, ensuring the finest of service and satisfactory search results.
Getty Images  : One of the biggest stock photo sites out there. Owns some of the other sites mentioned on this list, so their photos will often pop up as suggestions on those other sites too.
Image Zoo  : ImageZoo’s impressive collection of inspired and distinctive images are created by some of the world’s most visionary illustrating talents. Discover thousands of stylish and sassy images, or choose from a selection of virtual CD’s full of valuable and re-usable illustrations that will contribute to your projects for years to come.
iStockPhoto  : (owned by Getty Images) Founded over 15 years ago, iStock created the crowd-sourced stock industry and became the original source for user-generated stock photos, vectors and illustrations, video clips, and music clips.
Masterfile : Millions of royalty-free and rights manages images.

Did I miss any good sites? Let me know in the comments and I will update the links.

The post Resource: 54 Stock Photo Websites appeared first on Magic Writer.

What is Young Adult Fantasy?

What is Young Adult Fantasy?

Young Adult (YA) Fantasy is a subset of fantasy fiction aimed at a teenage audience.

Fantasy is a wide genre and includes stories about made-up worlds, mythical creatures, and magic. Not all these elements have to be present to make a book fantasy, but a fantasy book will have creatures and concepts that do not exist in the real world.

YA Fantasy can be any type of fantasy genre, but as a general rule the characters will be aged between 13 and 18, and the storylines focus on teenage experiences. YA Fantasy is identified by its characters and the issues they face, rather than by the setting or situation.

YA Fantasy sub-genres

Certain fantasy sub-genres are more popular than others for YA. Urban fantasy is common, as is portal fantasy. These sub-genres have a mix of the real world and a connected fantasy world. Either there will be a door to a fantasy world, or the fantasy world integrates with the real world unknown to its inhabitants. This allows for more contemporary topics to be addressed such as high school, peer pressure, and coping with the stresses of everyday life in the real world.

YA Fantasy themes

Typically, YA Fantasy will contain some or all of the following themes:

Coming of Age

This theme involves dealing with the changes that life throws upon the characters in the transition from child to adult. This can involve taking on adult responsibilities, career choices, character growth, development of magical powers or skills, and realisation that the world is not as straight-forward as previously assumed.

School/Training

This theme deals with learning experiences and how teenagers take their places in the adult world of work. Many YA Fantasy books are set in schools or training institutions, or involve apprenticeships or first jobs. It’s also common for training situations to revolve around magical knowledge. Often these learning sessions are used as a way to introduce the reader to the unfamiliar world and the magic system.

Love/Romance

First love is a theme often explored in YA Fantasy, combined with learning to deal with brand-new romantic or physical feelings and the development of relationships. The younger end of this genre will probably focus on emotional feelings and be ‘clean’ in terms of romantic content, but older teen fantasy can sometimes include steamier scenes. As a general rule though, the feelings, emotions, and confusions of young love are seen as key in YA, rather than the physical side of a relationship.

Independence

Characters making their own way in the world is a key theme. They can no longer depend on the adults around them and must learn to stand on their own two feet. Often, adults are written out of the picture or take a back seat, in order to allow the teens to work things out for themselves.

Dysfunctional Families

Abusive or disinterested adults are often seen in this genre, allowing the themes of dealing with difficult home lives to be addressed. Some books may also deal with broken families or step-families. These themes will often be a backdrop to the fantasy plot, but also allow the teen to resolve or accept their issues, or otherwise deal with them with the help of the magical world.

Mental health Issues

Many contemporary themes such as peer pressure, bullying, drug abuse, depression, mental health issues, and more, can be part of YA Fantasy and can provide insight into how to deal with such issues, but again they are explored within a fantasy setting.

Adventure/Quest

As a counterpart to the character arc, the YA Fantasy hero or heroine will often either fall into adventure, or have some kind of goal or quest to complete. They will be assisted on the way by their friends and mentor figures. YA Fantasy tends to be strongly plot-driven, and the plot progression and lessons learned on the way allows the teen character to develop and change by the end of the novel, whilst providing an exciting scenario for the reader.

Where Carpets Fly

Most YA Fantasy books will include some of the above themes. In my own YA Fantasy novel, Where Carpets Fly, a teenage girl leaves her family to live in the big city (independence) and take magic lessons (training). She is thrown into an adventure when she takes an unexpected voyage to a neighbouring country, and everything proceeds to go wrong (adventure). Throughout the story, she learns magic, has to deal with difficult situations on her own, and also has a romance; so I combined many of the elements above in my story.

In Conclusion

YA Fantasy is not just for children and teens. Whilst it’s a genre with a primary teen market, many adults also read and enjoy young adult books, myself included. Themes of independence, change, and new relationships can resonate at any stage in life. So whether for nostalgia, inspiration or simply entertainment, why not give teen fantasy a go?

Let me know in the comments what your favourite YA Fantasy book is!

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