Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!
Per my Announcement & TBR for #WyrdAndWonder –
you might have suspected my blog Jorie Loves A Story and my bookish & geeky feeds via @joriestory were going to be overtaken with fantastical loveliness throughout May! However, you might not have realised I’ve cooked up some plans to host Indie Fantasy novelists via my book chat @SatBookChat, as well!
Ahead, of these featured authors – I have also hosted two special guest author features within the first week of #WyrdAndWonder – the first is where the author creatively ‘hosted’ a convo between herself and I – wherein I responded in kind. She wrote an aro-ace telepathical astral projecting Speculative novel. The second author I’ve hosted was for a Dark Fantasy novel which winked a bit of curiosity in me to seek out a discussion!
Let me share with you the schedule and which authors I’ll be featuring throughout MAY! As things are starting to get underway now as the first week is nearly melding into Week Two for #WyrdAndWonder!
I’ve created a unique line-up this May, as I am continuing to feature #IndieFantasy novelists via #SatBookChat as much as I’ll be featuring them via Jorie Loves A Story. I love shining a light on Indie Authors which is not just a tradition I established during #WyrdAndWonder but one I’ve been celebrating since I first became a book blogger and decided to use my blog as a platform to talk about the stories I love from independent publishers as well as self-published authors. There is a lovely girth of stories being crafted in these realms and if I can help give more light to the stories and the authors who are writing them, I truly feel blessed as a book blogger and social reader.
Of the three authors, regular chatters of #SatBookChat and readers of Jorie Loves A Story will immediately recognise Jennifer Silverwood – especially after having observed my gush fest of joy in having read her Urban Fantasy story “Silver Hollow” (see also Review) inasmuch as the FUN we have discussing her stories via #SatBookChat or the fact I interviewed her last year during Wyrd and Wonder (see also Interview). It should also be mentioned we’re personal friends who bonded over our love of Fantasy, writing and being socially active in the book blogosphere and on #bookTwitter.
As you can already tell – I wanted to extend our joy in chatting with each other to tuck closer to what motivates her as a reader of Fantasy and what she personally enjoys about a genre she consistently writes inside. I also wanted to focus more on her takeways about Urban Fantasy as a reader moreso than as a writer because we had such a wonderfully in-depth discussion previously about ‘Silver Hollow’. I am quite sure our enthused reunion will spark its own set of conversational avenues to explore and I look forward to chatting that hour to see where it leads us all.
There are two new to Jorie authors being featured this May during #SatBookChat – as I love to feature the authors I desire most to be reading inasmuch as the authors I am reading whilst I’m hosting #SatBookChat.
Last Autumn, I first crossed paths with Odyssey Books (@OdysseyBooks) – a lovely Indie Publisher from New Zealand. I hadn’t had the chance to connect with them until very recently – wherein I had a chance to seek out several of their authors to interview during Wyrd And Wonder (as disclosed on my TBR Announcement) whilst I am also having the pleasure of joy reading two of their novelists – Felicity Banks & Elizabeth Foster.
I’ve been wanting to start branching out this New Year – by seeking out authors who are published in Australia and/or New Zealand, Germany (as they have lovely Historical sagas!), Canada and other parts of the world. I have the tendency of focusing a heap on my love of British, Scottish & Irish authors (big smiles) but there is a big wide world out there I’m quite eager to be reading!
In the past, I was quite the active letter-writer – my friends were sprinkled throughout the world and their letters were a huge part of the joy in receiving postal mail throughout my younger years and into my twenties. I have had several friends in New Zealand and Australia – whilst I have loved both countries as a setting for stories, as a location used in film/tv series and as a culturally enriched area of the world wherein stories seem to find you as soon as you seek them out. More recently, as I’ve been devouring #AcornTV – as it is the benchmark streaming service for those who love British, Canadian, Australian & New Zealander televisions series and/or actors/actresses – I’ve been hugged into modern Melbourne & Victoria Australia – as the second series I’m streaming which has caught my heart is #MyLifeIsMurder starring Lucy Lawless.
Important to mention because in the ’90s like most Speculative appreciators – I was definitely a watcher of her series “Xena” and have haphazardly followed her career. Finding her as Alexa as a smart as nails detective heroine for our modern era who works cold cases and solves them on her own terms is just the kind of brilliant serial I needed right now in my life! I immediately found it via recommendations during an #AcornTV inspired convo on Twitter – wherein I mentioned I was grieving the loss of episodes for #AgathaRaisin which had been my first streamed series on the channel.
As I was watching #MyLifeIsMurder, I started remembering what I know about New Zealand & Australia – the little trivia bits my friends shared, the inside information about where to go on inter-state holidays between the two countries and just the beauty of their cities and countryside. Of the two, I leant closer to wanting to visit New Zealand because topographically it just appealled to what I was seeking to find if I were to fly out of the country. However, through this new series – I’m finding myself as captured by modern Melbourne as I was during the time I spent in historic Melbourne through the eyes of #MissFisher (Murder Mysteries). Such a posh city and its wicked brilliant how their using the city to be a secondary character a bit like how Hitchcock used his camera angles to paint portraits of narrative himself.
Which is a very roundabout way of saying I’m thankful to have new worlds to explore this Wyrd And Wonder – with charmingly brilliant strong female lead characters who are blessedly different than your traditional Fantasy heroines and happily are occupying a niche of joy for me as a reader – either the pages of Middle Grade Fantasy or Young Adult Fantasy. These authors are going to be a delight of joy to host and converse with during #SatBookChat as it is part of my new extension of being inclusive of all genres which seek to highlight the strength of their female characters and the joys of having stories Feminist-forward in how they are written positively with women at the heart of their stories.
It is my pleasure to announce my first #SatBookChat guest during #WyrdAndWonder is Felicity Banks whose written “The Monster Apprentice”.
The only weapon Dance has is her name.
When pirates threaten the tiny hidden island of Luar, Dance knows her home has only one hope of survival: the magical monsters that killed her twin sister.
Dance loses her friends one by one as she attempts to prepare her strange apprentices for the showdown between monsters and pirates. Can she do it alone?
The Monster’s Apprentice is a powerful story of looking at the world differently and finding an answer in an unexpected place.
NOTE: this is the first novel in the Rahana Trilogy.
I’ve had a fascination with #piratefiction sine I was a young girl and first saw Gabriel Bryne in a lead character role playing a rather vile pirate who was attempting to cause strife to a boy who was castaway in a world he barely understood but was trying to survive. The film in the ’80s was called ‘Shipwrecked’ but it might have been renamed since then – it was my first exposure to Bryne’s acting (which I loved – the second was in the underloved comedy “Hello Again” with Shelley Long) as much as it was this wicked epic pirate adventure!
Over the years, I’ve been keenly fascinated with more pirates – including Cap’t Jack Sparrow – as who wouldn’t have become enchanted by that film series? lol I only saw it 5x when it first released spilt over five months,.. so, you know, not like I was addicted to it or anything! lol
What I loved about the premise of this story is how it is a uniquely told coming-of age adventure wherein you have to find strength within your own soul to overcome the odds stacked against you. It is a powerful premise and one which has universal appeal. The series itself is based in Indonesia and part of our #SatBookChat is going to be rooted in where this series is set, what a pirate ball has to do with the author meeting her spouse and what the Australia Navy taught her about ships and high seas sailing!
We’re rounding out #WyrdAndWonder with our third featured author Owen Crane whose written a very intriguing plot featuring an equally intriguing Middle Grade heroine named Ariella!
Ariella Lightharbour is heir to the crown with a nation at her feet but knows she’s meant for more. Forsaking her throne she chooses to become a Guardian.
As she embarks on The Journey she must find the courage within herself to battle the deadly Ghost Raiders that murdered her father, discover the identity of the elusive shadow and fight to end the curse that threatens to overwhelm the land.
I have a personal penchant for Middle Grade & YA Fantasy stories – either one-offs, duologies or series – as there is something wicked wonderful about how #IndieFantasy authors are tempting me inside their fantastical worlds within the realms of where Children’s Lit can illuminate a level of joy for adult readers who are rediscovering their love of niches of literature they once read so dearly regularly it was as natural as breathing.
Let me give you a brief history of dragons in Dawnhaven, which is revealed later in the series. There were dragons along time ago, however one turned to evil and created havoc, the good dragons united and defeated him but have since left the world, or so everyone thinks. – Owen Crane
There is a quotation about dragons I read in a chapter sampler of this novel which nearly made me reconsider reading the novel – this is why I asked about the dragons in the story and/or in the overall series. In the first novel, they are not focused on but they become more important as time shifts forward.
As I have been stipulating this #WyrdAndWonder – I am in search of *dragons!* I look forward to talking about this series, Ariella’s journey and how dragons play a keen role in the background of the series itself. Mr Crane is an Indie Author from Ireland and I was most delighted when I found his request to review this novel arrived just ahead of Wyrd And Wonder getting underway!
I decided to celebrate my good fortune in receiving ALL 3x novels I was expecting to read & review during #WyrdAndWonder in a short #unboxing #booktube video:
.@wyrdandwonder?#BookPhoto Challenge during #WyrdAndWonder
A: The best things come in threesA trifecta of #newtomeauthors featuring #MGFantasy & #YAFantasy from #IndieAuthors: @FBanksBooks @e_foster3 and @owencrane ???♂️#bookpost @OdysseyBooks#bookbloggers #booktube pic.twitter.com/qmhromT5xq
— Jorie (#WyrdAndWonder) ?? (@joriestory) May 5, 2020
You can tell I’m enjoying my new Sony Elph camera!
Wait til you see what I did ahead of this #unboxing
with the #CrimeFictionBox for April!
I previously had a different Sony digital camera – but as it was gifted to me in [2005] you could say I was a bit overdue to replace it as it was on its last photos!
Image Credit: Flaming phoenix by Sujono Sujono from 123RF.com.
This Interview announcement is part of my showcases for a Fantasy event I am co-hosting during our 3rd Year of #WyrdAndWonder – follow us socially via @WyrdAndWonder – stalk our tag (across social media) and/or join us in a month long celebration of how the fantastical realms of Fantasy give you wicked JOY.
Ideas of how you can participate – an initial welcome post by my co-host Imyril as well as the first Quest Log (map into the book blogosphere for #WyrdAndWonder) and the first Roll Call Log by my co-host Lisa!
Read our Creative Roulette #WyrdAndWonder Interview!
Be sure to visit my Announcement & TBR List!
{SOURCES: Book covers for “The Monster Apprentice” and “Ariella and the Curse of Dawnhaven” as well as the synopsis for the novels were provided by their authors and are used with permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets were embedded due to codes provided by Twitter. Wyrd And Wonder 2020 banner created by Imyril (Image Credit: Flaming phoenix by Sujono Sujono from 123RF.com). Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: #WyrdAndWonder Year 3 banner, @SatBookChat logo badge, the #SatBookChat #WyrdAndWonder Schedule banner and the Comment Box Banner.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2020.
I’m a social reader | I tweet my reading life
?Jorie ANNOUNCES #SatBookChat feat. #IndieFantasy novelists this #WyrdAndWonder 3x Saturdays in May @ 11a NYC | 4p UK | 8a PST | 1a Australia; wherein ALL participants are welcome to follow our feeds, add our tag & join the convos
Info: https://t.co/MPPEeRfRwm pic.twitter.com/6g3mS0foxW
— Jorie (#WyrdAndWonder) ?? (@joriestory) May 9, 2020
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