On why this author has been on my bookish radar:
Before I was a book blogger, I was an avid reader of book blogs – curated by readers & authors alike, wherein I would be actively seeking out blog posts, cover reveals, new release announcements and the old fashioned blog tour wherein it wasn’t organised by a touring company but rather a collective of book bloggers and/or group author blogs where authors who were releasing a new book would “visit, guest post and/or interact with readers” in the comment threads. It was a lovely introduction to how to become invested in this side of book world within the labyrinth of the ‘book blogosphere’.
As this pre-dates 2013 (the year I developed Jorie Loves A Story) – I had no foresight of expectation to recognise I would one day tackle book blogging myself! It became an organic transition because through my frequent visitations to those blogs & bloggers, I was developing a way to interact with fellow readers and writers. I wrote the same hearty commentary as book bloggers are familiar with nowadays and I loved communicating about all things bookish & geeky. I wasn’t even traversing the twitterverse at that point, as that came in November after launching Jorie Loves A Story live in August, 2013.
You might be curious – why the back-history about this journey?
Glad you’ve asked! During that period of exploration, my path crossed with a lot of INSPY authors who were co-blogging their writerly adventures. In that capacity, I first stumbled across today’s spotlighted novelist Janalyn Voigt. However, at the time, the key focus of the stories she was blogging about had to do with my personal favourite genre Historical Fiction as she’s a multi-genre writer (something I can personally relate too!) of whom delves into different branches of literary wandering.
When I came across this lovely blog tour for her series “Tales of Faeraven” – the timing felt like a good one. I’ve been appreciating reading more Fantasy & Speculative Fiction this year – especially anchoured through my co-hosted event @WyrdAndWonder. This was also the first year where I could delve directly into INSPY Fantasy novels – through my readings of Morgan L. Busse’s Ravenwood saga.
Today, I am spotlighting a series from a #newtomeauthor of INSPY Fantasy & Speculative High Fantasy I cannot wait to be reading!
DawnSinger (Spotlight)
by Janalyn Voigt
Source: Author via Prism Book Tours
The High Queen is dying...
At the royal summons, Shae mounts a wingabeast and soars through the air to the high hold of Faeraven, where all is not as it seems. Visions warn her of danger, and a dark soul touches hers in the night. When she encounters an attractive but disturbing musician, her wayward heart awakens.
But then there is Kai, a guardian of Faeraven and of Shae. Secrets bind him to her, and her safety lies at the center of every decision he makes.
On a desperate journey fraught with peril and the unknown, they battle warlike garns, waevens, ferocious raptors, and the wraiths of their own regrets. Yet, they must endure the campaign long enough to release the DawnKing and the salvation he offers into a divided land. To prevail, each must learn that sometimes victory comes only through surrender.
Places to find the book:
ISBN: 9781611162004
Also by this author: DawnSinger, WayFarer, SoJourner (Spotlight)
Also in this series: DawnSinger, WayFarer, SoJourner (Spotlight)
Published by Harbour Light Books
on 29th June, 2012
Format: Trade Paperback
Published By: Harbour Light Books
an imprint of Pelican Ventures, LLC (@pelicanbookgrp)
Tales of Faeraven Series:
DawnSinger (book one)
WayFarer (book two)
→ SoJourner (book three) *releasing soon! (11th October, 2019)
DawnKing (book four) ← *forthcoming!
Converse via: #INSPYFantasy + #Fantasy
as well as #INSPYbooks + #SpecLit
Available Formats: Trade Paperback and Ebook
About Janalyn Voigt
Janalyn Voigt is a writer and professional speaker with a photography habit and a passion for travel. Her unique blend of adventure, romance, suspense, and fantasy creates worlds of beauty and danger for readers. Tales of Faeraven, her epic fantasy series beginning with DawnSinger, carries readers into a land only imagined in dreams. She is represented by Sarah Joy Freese of Wordserve Literary.
When I am seeking out new Fantastical Reads – of which I try to remember to use the hashtag I’ve created to stipulated a wicked good find once I take to the twitterverse to announce its discovery & devourment “#EnterTheFantastic” – I am definitely seeking Quest stories within the High Fantasy realms. I haven’t yet given in the towel on finding the kind of #dragonfiction I’m seeking *but!* I’ve nearly become aggrieved realising that there just isn’t a market for the dragon societies I am keen to be reading. Yes, I know, that infers someone (er, me?) ought to be tackling that curiously absent nook,…
I digress. When it comes to the Quest story-lines – I feel an immediacy of anticipation as this is one dear reason why I was curiously swept into the concept of the Lord of the Rings trilogy but also the breadth of the Histories of Middle Earth. And, yes, being a Fantasy Nerd – I ordered the FULL collection of those Histories in hardback from the UK! This pre-dates the easier routes of doing that too, so imagine my happy surprise when they finally arrived! Its a readerly project of mine for a snowed in Wintry fortnight,… til then, I have constantly striven to find other novelists who are anchouring their lead character(s) into a Quest.
When it comes to finding INSPY as a new window to peer through in Fantasy, I was quite surprised last Christmas when PRISM hosted the #blogmas spotlight posts for our lovely blogs – wherein, numerous #newtomeauthors were stepping out of the fray and into my readerly view. I posted quite a few of those spotlights, recognising for the first time that this hidden niche of #SpecLit was my own personal undiscovered country! I am sure Kirk and Spook would be super impressed! Laughs with mirth.
As I continue to take this journey, I am hoping as I expand my readerly horizons into these new niches of INSPY Lit, perhaps some of my readers will find it an attractive place to lay their readerly hats as well. As I move into the Faeraven Tales – here is what I am most eager to see come into the forefront of the narrative:
→ winged horses (wingabeast) : when it comes to mystical, mythological and magical creatures & beasts, there is something wicked #awesomesauce about an animal who gives you FLIGHT. I most admit, these are the creatures I am most eager to meet on the page as I have Equestrian roots IRL.
→ a Medieval Historical world : taking this journey into the folds of Quest of High Fantasy set in a Medieval setting is one I don’t oft get to explore. I am fascinated by the hierarchy of power alignments and also, the presence of technologies and/or innovations alongside old school fantastical elements. I look forward to seeing what inside this world and how Voigt envisioned it for us to walk through.
→ Good vs Evil : as discovered through how Busse treated this concept within the framework of INSPY Fantasy, similarly, I am curious to see how Voigt treats it as well. I know there is a power struggle between light & dark inasmuch as their is exchange of light and dark – seeing how she finds balance between the two whilst hinging it against an INSPY narrative yet maintains the concepts of Fantasy itself is what truly drove me to want to seek out this series.
I am rather curious if other readers who appreciate the mainstream side of Fantasy & Speculative worlds if they’ve taken this curious passageway into INSPY Fantasy such as I have been doing? What they felt about how the fantastical is re-anchoured through a narrative highlighting the inspirational aspects of its newfound roots in this new sub-niche of INSPY Lit whilst if they also felt this niche honours both literary roots it is cross-secting? I am finding there are certain authors who are mastering this dual balance & focus; giving me not just wicked good reads but worlds in which I am impressively in awe of how they’ve built them!
Journey with me as I enter into Faeraven
and let’s see what we’ll discover together!
This blog tour is courtesy of:
{SOURCES: Book covers for “Dawnsinger” and “Wayfarer”, book synopsis, author biography, author photograph of Janalyn Voigt, the tour host badge and Prism Book Tours badges were all provided by Prism Book Tours and used with permission. Post dividers and My Thoughts badge by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets were embedded due to codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Stories in the Spotlight and the Comment Box Banner.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2019.
I’m a social reader | I tweet my reading life
👉#BookSpotlight via #DSPrismTour
feat. #DawnSinger by @JanalynVoigtBefore you journey with me as I'm #amreading the Faeraven Tales saga – find out what has inspired me to take-on this #Fantasy Quest!
📖🐎https://t.co/qP9uf0VnUO#WyrdAndWonder | #SpecLit pic.twitter.com/wwZJfnRjc8
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) August 23, 2019
Thanks so much for featuring DawnSinger during its tour. I’m glad you enjoyed the winged horses, medieval storyworld. and the battle of good versus evil. You’ll be glad to note, I’m sure, that winged horses figure prominently throughout the series.
Hallo, Hallo Ms Voigt,
You’re quite welcome – when I realised I couldn’t finish reading “DawnSinger” in time to post during the blog tour featuring the story, I wanted to talk about what was inspiring me into the series itself. Since this spotlight ran, I have finally shared my opinions and thoughts about “DawnSinger” as well as for “WayFarer” as I was able to post my reviews back-to-back to be featured during the second blog tour of the series. I was dearly thankful the wingabeasts were a predominately featured animal as they truly left a strong impression on me!