Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!
You might have questioned your sanity this past week on Jorie Loves A Story – as unfortunately due to personal circumstances and a naughty Winter cold which struck me down quite fiercely for nearly a full week now – I haven’t had the pleasure of joy of sharing *all!* of my #FantasyForChristmas19 posts in a systematic way of arriving in your feeds for my blog as you might have originally felt they might have alighted! Meaning, I found a cheeky way to ‘bend time’ a bit but still managed to feature the authors & their stories which interest me most to seek out to read in New Year, 2020!
If you’ve become a regular visitor to Jorie Loves A Story – you’ve noticed a few things – I happen to *love!* reading Speculative Fiction, I have a propensity for seeking out Epic Fantasy series and/or Sagas and there is something about fantastical world-building which truly makes me giddy as a reader inasmuch as a historically set novel. This year the event allowed me to seek out a few #newtomeauthors to highlight and share extracts from their stories whilst it also allowed me the chance to re-champion & re-cheer for two novelists I already know I dearly love to read: Morgan L. Busse & Jennifer Silverwood!
Busse and Silverwood are each writing series I love disappearing inside and thankfully they each are giving me a wicked good new installment in 2020! How’s that for a lovely New Year’s gift? New stories within series I love to read is each year’s goal and I couldn’t be happier to see February and May come round respectively!
Whilst at the same time, I was smitten by a #dragonfiction series, tucked into joy realising Ms McShane has *two!* series I am itching to read rather than one and even found a new anthology to chase after which delighted my bookish heart! If you’ve missed any of the #FantasyForChristmas series of posts this #blogmas or from #blogmas 2018 – this is the post you’re going to want to read in full! I’m re-visiting why I chose each author to spotlight and highlight during both year’s – giving you the full pleasure of finding your own #newtomeauthors to earmark to read!
Brew a favourite cuppa and prepare to take some notes!
I am happy to announce the Fantasy novelists I have enjoyed featuring during the early days of #blogmas for my 2nd Year hosting the #FantasyForChristmas blog series on Jorie Loves A Story are the following:
I had a delightful time reminiscing why I *loved!* reading both Mark of the Raven and Flight of the Raven (see also Review) whilst happily providing an extract from the second novel in this series.
The third novel in this series will be releasing next year Cry of the Raven (February, 2020) which has me wicked excited *but!* also on pins – as once you get hugged inside a Fantasy series you love reading, the trickiest part about the next installments is not just remembering the pace & flow of the series itself without re-reading the first novels ahead of the next release but also feeling just as attached as you were originally into the world-building! I do recognise that I have a bit of a preference towards reading series closer together (in regards to installments) than further apart – with a few exceptions to this (ie. the dramatic cosy crime series I read) – as there is something to be said for awaiting all the installments to release before sinking into a dramatic Fantasy saga such as this one! I do envy readers who haven’t yet picked this one up to read – as if they await Cry of the Raven they will be in for a wicked #awsomesauce treat!
This is the first time I’ve been able to highlight this author and anthology on Jorie Loves A Story – as I previously learnt about it a few months ahead of #FantasyForChristmas19! What I loved most about this is the fact it IS an anthology! Those are amongst my favourites to read as you get a proper sampling of quite a wide net of authors & styles of crafting Speculative Fiction stories – be sure to re-visit the extract and spotlight to see if this antho interested you as much as it does me!
Even though there wasn’t too much shared about what you’d discover inside this anthology – what I liked the most is that it gave a sense of the aesthetic you might find within it. I find the more eclectic in scope an anthology can provide SpecLit stories the more keener invested I feel as a reader – as that is why I have hugged inside so many dearly loved anthos from World Weaver Press! (ie. Fae, Corvidae, Scarecrow, Frozen Fairy Tales) You have this well of interest percolating in a hive of new thoughts and fantastical realms to explore – all at your fingertips as you entreat into an anthology which hopefully unlocks new wonderments and new ways of ‘seeing’ a Fantasy story alight in your imagination!
I might have voiced a few concerns about seeking new stories of #dragonfiction but the more I wrote my post to feature this lovely extract and spotlight for the Dragons Risings series, the more I felt it might be a wicked good fit for me as a reader!
One thing extracts can give readers is a lovely sampling of the author’s style, voice and approach to how she or he wishes to tell a story within their chosen genre. When it comes to #dragonfiction, I might be a more cautionary reader but what I love the most is how I continue to find writers who are inspiring me ‘towards’ what I am seeking even if the road towards the goal of dragon inclusive societies and worlds takes me a bit longer than the average Fantasy reader, I am enjoying the process of discovery! A kind shout-out to Ms Silverwood for anchouring this post with a comment and a book recommendation as I truly appreciated her sentiments for our mutual love of dragons and of an author I’ve never heard of and dearly hope I can read in the New Year!
Two years and two series featuring Melissa McShane makes me realise that 2020 has to be the year I seek out both of them! Laughs. It was a pure delight finding another of her series to be my cuppa of interest – as whenever I find a Historical Fantasy I get wicked thrilled for the potential of it – plus, the cover art of this one was awe-inspiring for a girl who loved her Captain Jack Sparrow adventures! Laughs. See what you think as you scope out the extract and spotlight!
I oft disappear into the historic past per annum – as testament to the fact Historical Fiction and all the lovely sub-niches of interest within that sphere are happily blogged about regularly on Jorie Loves A Story – including the new featured series of reviews and/or interviews on #HistoricalMondays! If an author can bridge my love of Historical Fiction *and!* my love of Fantasy – there is something wicked enticing about the premise for me! Especially as whenever you can bend time, history and fantasy into a compelling intriguing plot – it begs the question, why wouldn’t you want to disappear inside it?
Two years of #FantasyForChristmas and two releases of the Borderlands Saga! This year, I’m happily helping to cheer for the May 2020 release for Blackbriar Cove as I found the first novel Silver Hollow #unputdownable earlier in 2019! Find out what inspires me into this world and why I am wicked thrilled over the sequel!
What can I say?
I mean… this is a series I could literally gush and talk about til the cows come home!
I initially felt I was going to be highlighting a few more novelists this year – until a) I was struck down by a Winter cold and b) after reading the extracts I was thinking to myself that perhaps I misjudged the series being focused on as they didn’t seem to ‘fit’ me as much as I had hoped they would have initially. I love spotlighting authors on my blog – however, I always strive to spotlight the authors I know I’d love reading if the book were available to be read the day I am spotlighting them. For whichever reason, from when I first found their stories on the event list and after soldiering through a severely bad cold this week – I’ve found the stories were simply not my cuppa.
Each of the authors I’ve showcased are ones which have encouraged my curiosity and are stories and/or series I am either a) looking forward to continuing to read or b) will be seeking out through my library. If you’ve read one of the this year’s authors, I’d love to hear your thoughts & takeaways – especially as I love hearing other reader’s thoughts about mutually curious series and authors!
Before I wrap-up this post,….
I never had the chance to conclude hosting the #FantasyForChristmas series of #blogmas posts I featured on Jorie Loves A Story from 2018 – which is why I wanted to include those authors this year as the second year has given me more new authors to seek out and explore fantastical realms ahead of co-hosting my 3rd year of #WyrdAndWonder!
Each December for two years in a row now – I’ve happily had the pleasure of being one of the book bloggers whose hosted this delightful event spearheaded by the women behind #WeWriteFantasy – and the joyful heart of Jennifer Silverwood (an author I consider a good friend of mine) who loves to share her bookish life with everyone who has a readerly interest in wicked good stories of Speculative Fiction & Romance.
Without further adieu, the Fantasy Novelists who intrigued me
from #FantasyForChristmas 2018 were the following:
I was truly captured by the premise and the depth of where this series could take me – not to mention the fact I was visually enraptured by the stunning cover art which spoke to me about the world-building! Find out what intrigued me most about the Songkeeper Chronicles!
This was one of those Christian Fantasy series which truly took me by happy surprise for discovering it! There is a definitely epic vibe to this series and like Jess E. Owen’s series – as forementioned, the allure to seeing how she included her species into the world and into her character’s lives was definitely part of the awe for me as a reader! However, it was the audio sampler for this series which truly captured my heart – it was one of the few times where I was wickedly thrilled the author chose to narrate her own story and had dearly hoped might take it on a full production rather than a mere sampler to entice us into the story!
Prior to being selected to host this lovely author and her blog tour for Mark of the Raven and Flight of the Raven during #WyrdAndWonder 2019 (our 2nd Year) – I had the honour of discovering her series during #FantasyForChristmas 2018! Find out what intrigued me and why I was itching with curiosity!
Even before I had the honour of reading her series, I was dearly intrigued! This was another entry for Christian Fantasy which in of itself was intriguing because I hadn’t sought out authors who were writing Christian Fantasy previously or at least, not regularly that I can remember. I think a few times I might have stumbled across this branch of Fantasy but I don’t outright recall with authors and/or series I might have read in the past. Mostly I found myself struck by the joy of discovering this new niche of literature during last year’s #FantasyForChristmas as it just felt like a wholly new approach and hidden niche of delight for those of us who enjoy reading Fantasy and INSPY Lit.
I had no idea of course how this series would affect me as a reader nor has how much this series would resonate with me as a Fantasy reader. It would become one of the most contemplated stories I would read in 2019 and one of the Fantasy stories I was most grateful to have read. It is interesting how it all began with hosting #FantastyForChristmas – as the event allowed me to find her stories and through the blessing of a blog tour an opportunity presented itself for me to read her stories during Wyrd and Wonder!
When it comes to Steampunk stories, I think you can be safe to presume there will always be an itch of a curiosity for me to read what it might involve! Thus, it didn’t surprise me as a reader that Curio left such a curious impression on me!
I had a lot of fun with this guest feature last year – the author provided an interview and I took it a level up by responding to her answers – even though this wasn’t an original conversation between us, I found a segue of interest to respond as the conversation felt alive, approachable and responsive. It also provides a bit of insight into why I enjoy reading Steampunk and why the worlds of Steampunk are wicked intriguing for me to seek out to read!
This was one of the stories which took me by happy surprise – Spark was the first Fantasy novel featured during #FantasyForChristmas which was featuring a firestarter and using the talent of fire within a story-line.
Interestingly enough, for two years in a row – there is a firestarter premise inclusive to two separate series by two Fantasy novelists being featured during the #FantasyForChristmas events! I find this most interesting because prior to hosting the events, this wasn’t a talent I found occurring that often in my previous pursuits of Fantasy? I remember vaguely I had meant to request this over the past year as a purchase request and I’ll be remedying that initial goal of mine in 2020. It will be interesting to see what my takeaway thoughts are on behalf of the world-building and talent within Spark as cross-referenced with my readings within the world of Burning Bright!!
Oath of the Brotherhood felt larger in scale than some of the other choices last year – as I even contemplated it could become a cross between Tolkien’s Middle Earth and other High Fantasy series I had already discovered. I was thankful to share an extract on the spotlight post I featured last year.
One thing I love about Epic Fantasy, depending on what inspires the world and how it is constructed, is how you can pull together cross-references from other series you’ve read. This one felt more approachable simply due to the stories I’ve previously sought out and the stories I naturally gravitate towards as a Fantasy reader – what I felt would be truly interesting to see is how the story would resonate with me as it was being read.
The first series I spotlighted for Ms McShane was during my first #FantasyForChristmas event which focused on the Crown of Tremontane series!
I loved the feel and texture of this series inasmuch as I liked learning a bit about how it was built – the cover art I do remember was a solid nudge towards seeing into the world prior to reading it whilst what really drew my eye was the way in which this series just felt like the kind of series you’d find hard to put down once you began reading it! It was the kind of series I knew would be epic to journey inside and it was the experience of the series which I ached most to embrace as these series are hard to find and once you find them, you want to savour your time inside.
The world of Silver Hollow was actively mused about and blogged either for a full year or nearly for a year prior to reading it. I had contemplated the world of the Borderlands Saga so readily that by the time I had the book in hand to read, it felt weirdly right in that that moment to be read. It was hard to describe really – just the fact my time with the story had arrived was a fitting moment to remember. Thus, re-highlighting it during #FantasyForChristmas was a personal delight as I didn’t talk about reading it til a few months’ into 2019!
As mentioned on one of my posts this year for #FantasyForChristmas19 – I am going to be seeking out the novelists I’ve hosted for these events I’ve not currently have had the pleasure of reading via my local library.
I’m first going to attempt to turn in purchase requests to see if I can help add their stories to our card catalogue as my library system is actively sought out for Speculative Fiction – especially for Fantasy & Science Fiction though at times I do question if the library seeks out enough of an eclectic variety for both. It would be nice to see if I can help them expand their reach and also bring in some lovely Indie Authors into the catalogue as well!
Thankfully, they already support Indie Authors & publishers which I know not every local public library does – for which, I am grateful. It will be a lovely New Year of seeing which of these Fantasy novelists I can read and which of their stories and/or series become my #mustread selections for 2020!
This happily concludes my participation in the #FantasyForChristmas events for 2018 & 2019! I am dearly hoping they will continue the tradition for Christmas 2020 and *knock on wood* I won’t have a Wintry cold withholding the joy of participating as I had this year.
This blog tour is courtesy of: Prism Book Tours
Click through via the badge to find out what else awaits you!
Similar to blog tours where I feature book reviews, as I choose to highlight an author via a Guest Post, Q&A, Interview, etc., I do not receive compensation for featuring supplemental content on my blog. I provide the questions for interviews and topics for the guest posts; wherein I receive the responses back from publicists and authors directly. I am naturally curious about the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of stories and the writers who pen them; I have a heap of joy bringing this content to my readers.
{SOURCES: All the Grand Finale banners for #FantasyForChristmas 2018 & 2019 authors/stories/series as well as the blog tour banner and The Prism Book Tours badge were all provided by Prism Book Tours and used with permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets embedded by codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: #blogmas 2019 badge and the Comment Box Banner.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2019.
I’m a social reader | I tweet my reading life
#JorieReads | #newtomeauthors of #Fantasy
in the New Year (2020) whilst seeking out authors via her #library and celebrating #FantasyforChristmas19? There be dragons, fairies, epic sagas & firestarters, oh my! Loved hosting this fantastical event?? https://t.co/hhA0ufhSxO
— Joriebelle rings a bell for #blogmas ??? (@joriestory) December 12, 2019
Leave a Reply