About: *Wyrd & Wonder*
Wyrd and Wonder is an annual celebration of the fantasy genre. Sign up to join the party as we explore worlds of myth and magic, re-imagine traditional tales, cheer on heroes (prefer villains? Sure, we won’t judge you) and discover the secret doors that lead from familiar streets to adjacent realms where a discourtesy or a misstep may land you in hot water. We’ll be reading books, watching movies, playing games and sharing our thoughts online through blog posts and social media with as many like-minded adventurers as care to join us – there’s always room by the fire for a newcomer with a tale to share. (official 2022 blurb)
Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!!
You might have noticed a small reduction in features running on Jorie Loves A Story as we move closer to May and Wyrd And Wonder. I was originally meant to share these featured posts for #TopFiveSaturday on the following dates: 19th of March & 2nd of April. I had to yield to my fellow co-hosts to pick up the reins of cheering on our event those weekends as I was unable to release my posts. This has been a difficult and rocky start to 2022 for me and my family as I referenced quite a bit on my Sunday Post from February; however, despite the hurdles and challenges – I am still trying to carve out space for myself to read, to unwind and to find a moment of breath despite the chaos which seems to have consumed me.
Last week, Annemieke recapped the Discussion Posts from past Wyrd And Wonders – in case you missed her featured showcase of discussion posts – kindly visit her blog! Discussion posts are something I have been wanting to bring to my own blog over the years but somehow have managed to fall a bit short!? I tend to lengthen my book reviews at times to be inclusive of a topic or discussion at hand which re-directs back into the book I’ve just read *but!* to write a discussion post wholly independent of itself and a story I’ve read is something I haven’t yet brought to my readers on my blog. It is part of my goals and plans for my blog but something I haven’t explored in earnest as of yet. I admire those who can write them regularly and truly give a wonderful capture of the topic they’ve chosen to discuss as well.
The inspiration behind this series of #TopFiveSaturday on Jorie Loves A Story is giving participants (new and old) a new chance to get to ‘know’ the hosts and team behind #WyrdAndWonder whilst allowing everyone the chance to re-visit our blogs and see content they might not have had the chance to see as it originally published. As let’s face it – May comes quick and furious every Spring and we’re all balancing loads of life behind our blogs and social spheres online whilst participating in an event which brings us all together for 31 fantastical days. It would make sense at some point – some posts could be missed in the shuffle.
Now is your chance to see them with a fresh perspective and hear why I’ve chosen the posts I have during this limited series of #TopFiveSaturday focused concentrations featuring the Power of Five: Imyril, Lisa, Jorie, Annemieke and Ariana! Although, expect more during our lovely event where I select topics everyone else can join in on as well!
SPECIAL announcement for Wyrd & Wonder:
Jorie hosts Twitter chats throughout May!
A few of you might know I regularly host Twitter chats via @SatBookChat on Saturdays – it is a chat I’ve been rebuilding over the past few years whilst originally it was more focused on Romance & Women’s Fiction – it has evolved into a chat which celebrates all genres of interest with strong female characters and/or Feminist Lit. In other words – I’ve been expanding it to be inclusive of much more than strictly Romance & Women’s Fiction – whilst from the beginning I have hosted Indie published authors, Self-Published authors and Major Trade – as I wanted the chat to reflect the avenues of interest I have as a reader whilst also giving authors of all publishing backgrounds a chance to engage with readers, fellow writers, book bloggers & reviewers all across the world.
This is the second time #WyrdAndWonder has taken over #SatBookChat! As the first time was in 2020 when I hosted 3x Indie Fantasy authors during May.
The chats were originally set @ 11a NYC to accommodate the fact the roots of the chat were in hosting UK authors and it was a time which agreed with all of us in regards to working out a wicked good time to chat despite the differences in time zones. It has continued @ 11a NYC but sometimes takes a deviation towards noon or 12p NYC.
For #WyrdAndWonder, I knew I wanted to host quite a few of the chats via @SatBookChat but I also wanted to offer authors a chance to chat on Tuesday evenings if they wanted too as that was one evening I had free myself to host a chat whilst working two full-time jobs. I am proud to officially announce the chat schedule, the authors featured & the stories/series which we’ll be discussing as well as topics of interest as we move into our 5th Wyrd And Wonder.
The following chats will be via @SatBookChat
whilst using the tag #SatBookChat
@ 11a NYC | 4p UK | 8a PST
7th May: Jennifer Silverwood
Series of Focus: Borderlands Saga
Books of Focus: Silver Hollow & Blackbriar Cove
Topic: Forest Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
→ Read my review of “Silver Hollow”
My friendship with Jenn came ahead of my readings of ‘Silver Hollow’
– how lovely we get to celebrate the sequel being published this May.
14th May: E. Chris Garrison
Book of Focus: TransWitch
Part of: the Skye Universe
which includes the Road Ghosts & Tipsy Fairy Tale series
Topic: Urban Fantasy & Magic
→ Read my review of “Road Ghosts”
→ Listen to a special vlog interview about “Road Ghosts”
→ Read my reviews of the Tipsy Fairy Tale series:
“Blue Spirit”, “Restless Spirit” and “Mean Spirit”
→ My review of “TransWitch” will be during a showcase I’m calling:
#WitchyWednesdays this #WyrdAndWonder ahead of the chat!
My review will discuss listening to the audiobook whilst reading the print copy!
Ms Chris and I have been friends for several years now
– united through her stories and it is an honour to have her as a guest this 5th Year.
21st May: Jesse Amelia Gallow
Book of Focus: The Daughter of Grave Deeds
*not yet published* I was one of the betareaders for this manuscript
Topic: Paranormal Fantasy (ie. Witches & Ghosts)
I recently reunited with Ms Gallow as her story has haunted me wondrously since I first read the betacopy I had as a betareader. It is one of my top favourites I’ve betaread and I am definitely a book cheerleader of hers; which is why I’m thrilled to bits she was available to be a guest this year! Esp as this is not yet published!
28th May: Edale Lane
Series of Focus: Night Flyer series
Books of Focus: Walks with Spirits, Viking Quest, Heart of Sherwood
Books 4 & 5 of the Night Flyer series
Topic: Historical Fantasy, Robin Hood Retelling
→ Read my Reviews of the Night Flyer series:
“Merchants of Milan“, “Secrets of Milan” and “Chaos of Milan”
As you’ve might have noticed, I’ve been charmed wonderfully by my readings of the Night Flyer series and have been keeping in touch with Ms Lane over the years to ensure I know whenever her new books/series are releasing. We have a lovely friendship and it is an honour to have her series and stories featured this year. Plus, bringing home *six!* of her stories to read for #WyrdAndWonder was a delight of my own as a reader — more on that soon on May Day (1st of May) when I reveal my TBR! If you’re following us via Insta this year, you’ll already know most of what I’m reading!
As you can see, I am an eclectic Fantasy adventurer and have a wide variety of stories I love to devour within all realms of Fantasy. Ergo, I am hopeful there is a chat which will entice many of our participants to join throughout the month of May. I would be delighted if you could add a comment on this post if your planning to join us for the chats and let me know your handle on Twitter so I know to look for you during the chats themselves.
Be sure to follow the authors and @SatBookChat in order to have the chat on your feeds – whilst ensuring you remember to use the tag #SatBookChat during the chats to *thread the convo to everyone who joins in on the discussions.
I am dearly proud to have Indie Authors in spotlight again this year, as Indie Fantasy is my top favourite to devour as you might have realised by visiting my posts from prior Wyrd And Wonder years here on Jorie Loves A Story. Indie writers just write the stories which evoke a lot of joy and happiness in me as a reader and giving them a chance to chat & discuss their stories, their series and/or their writerly styles with you this 5th Year is a JOY of its own for me as a host.
#TopFiveSaturday : 16th April, 2022
Travelling through Fantasy
For this second #TopFiveSaturday, I decided to select posts from the five of us where we are discussing or listing a particular topic, theme or discussion list which has us travelling through Fantasy from different ports of interest. As you will note, we each have our own unique routes into Fantasy whilst we also keep our passions as individual as our personalities! I love going backwards in time to pull forward these posts – as each time I re-highlight a post from the past, I gain another bit of insight into ourselves as a team behind Wyrd And Wonder. And, happily now you can too.
On that level, the posts I’ve selected are highlighting different passions of the Power of Five within Fantasy whilst focusing on posts where you can tuck closer to our own sensibilities about Fantasy and what drives us each individually to continue to strive towards the unknown realms and consistently seek out Fantasy Lit which endeavours to grow our reach into a genre we all mutually love exploring!
Imyril: Adventuring into worlds of Fantasy
I loved how she wrote this post! Especially how at the first bit of it if you’re not a fan of Middle Earth you might not get the enjoyment out of it as I had myself. My memory is foggy on the details as in truth, despite owning the Histories of Middle Earth and the trilogies – I haven’t yet had the pleasure of reading the book(s) as much as I had hoped too when I purchased them in my early twenties. Hard to imagine two decades have elapsed but one day I know there is a Winter where Middle Earth will be calling and I look forward to enveloping myself in Tolkien’s stories at that moment in time. Until then, I can definitely respect someone else having a passion for wanting to visit their own favourite haunts and places therein!
Plus, of course its not just about Middle Earth, but you’ll have to visit her bucket list to find out what else she has on it. I especially enjoyed the bantering about what is considered sport and what is considered an activity! I have my eye on pursuing mounted archery in future – wherein you get to combine your love of archery with horse-back riding.
My Fantasy Bucket List
A list by Imyril @ There’s Always Room for One More
Lisa: Seeking out the Magic
I love finding out which wizards & witches are someone’s favourites – as this is a lovely subniche of joy for myself as a reader! This is partially what inspired me to anchour our Mays to October with #SpooktasticReads whilst knowing that sometimes the witches come a bit earlier into our lives which is why I will be focusing on them during my #WitchyWednesdays showcases this Wyrd And Wonder – as I refuse to admit both #SpooktasticReads & #Februwitchy passed me by already…
Of course I immediately recognised Hermoine Granger – as who wouldn’t have? But its the sea witch from the October Daye series which held my interest even moreso as I haven’t come across her yet in the series! Mind you, I’ve only read the first novel in the October Daye series and it is a series my Mum is now keen on reading with me – what we don’t have of course is the time to actually read the series back-to-back which is the only reason we didn’t queue it together for this year’s #WyrdAndWonder as a special Mum-in-daughter RAL — which means, it might appear next year instead! Smiles.
If witches & wizards are your jam – definitely give this list a whirl – you might find a new favourite!
Top Ten: Wizards & Witches
a list by Lisa @ Dear Geek Place
Annemieke: A Roadmap into Fantasy
I love finding Lists in which to entreat into a genre – it is how I’ve consistently found new subniches of genres I regularly read as well as new hidden niches of genres I thought I knew about the most and yet, had something exciting to discover all the same! Annemieke gives a hearty look into Fantasy – both as a genre and as a destination you can reach if you endevour to go down different roads of interest. Each letter is given a designation and from there – the jumping off points begin for you or I.
For each individual prompt of the letter(s) she also talks about what those letters symbolise and where you can find yourself adventuring off to next if you follow them directly. She gives you keen insight into what you’ll chase after and also offers suggestions in regards to what you might want to read in order to choose those as your next bookish destinations.
If your still sorting out your TBR for our 5th Year of Wyrd And Wonder – this is a post you’ll want to re-visit and see if you can sort out a few new passages to explore this year!
My Fantasy A to Z
a list by Annemieke @ A Dance With Books
Ariana: What would you take with you?
I love whenever someone proposes a question like this one – what would you take if you were going to spend a considerable amount of time elsewhere from where you normally are and what would you take with you on that journey? If you were wondering what kind of Fantasy reads might suit you for an extended leave of absence – look no further than Ariana’s blog! She has charted out a lovely list of EIGHT Fantasy novels – one of which is on my TBR for a year that isn’t our 5th – which is the novel I started a few Wyrd And Wonders ago and haven’t yet finished: “The Priory of the Orange Tree”.
Her reasons for choosing the books is classic – you’ll just have to take my word for it! Click over to read her informative and conversational list and see if you can find some new Fantasy to read this Wyrd And Wonder!
Desert Island Reads
a list by Ariana @ The Book Nook
Jorie: Conversations with Fantasy novelists
One thing that has been true since I started Jorie Loves A Story – is I love having conversations with authors! You will notice this has been a mainstay of my blog and one year in particular during #WyrdAndWonder, I had the joyful experience of interviewing and/or hosting guest features for authors who had published with Odyssey Books. It was 2020 and the two interviews I want to bring forward again are the following:
Carolyn Denman who writes the Sentinels of Eden series (see her interview)
& K.J. Taylor who wrote “The Shadow of the Skytree” (see her interview)
I shared a lot with both writers on both these interviews and their answers to my questions sparked more discussion as well. One of the beauties of hosting conversations is peering into how someone else approaches a mutually loved genre of interest and seeing how their inspiration & passion for that genre has translated into writing their own stories. I hope as you look back through this window of conversation, you’ll find something which sparks a renewal of interest in pursuing the unknowns in Fantasy.
Wait! There’s more,…
During my last #TopFiveSaturday, I mentioned a few extra things associated with our 5th Year of Wyrd And Wonder – such as the two RALs (readalongs) hosted by Imyril & Lisa respectively as well as the #WyrdAndWonder Challenge which can be used as a photo challenge or a blog post challenge OR any way you feel suits the prompts kind of challenge! And this week, I am happy to announce the Book Bingo Card & the Fantastic Five Sunday showcase series – hopefully you’ll find some inspiration for both ahead of May!
And, for those who LOVE BINGO cards, take a wicked good look at ours this year:
phoenix image by Sujono Sujono (Wyrd & Wonder 2020)
pegasus image by Svetlana Alyuk (Wyrd & Wonder 2021)
raven image by Olga Yastremska (Spooktastic Reads 2021)
tree wolf image by chic2view (Wyrd & Wonder 2022)
For me – the one square I will be avoiding is GRIMDARK as it is not my cuppa, although they might have left the door ajar for me if I read “Dark” rather than “GRIM” – as we always like to keep things open-ended & broad to be interpreted by our participants! Which of the squares are you most likely going to be attacking yourself as you wander through the fantastical worlds of your choosing this 5th Wyrd & Wonder!?
And, here’s our Fantastic Fives for Sundays in May:
This is a special new edition this year wherein the topics are chosen and each Sunday in May the responses will be individual to the person writing about the topics. We look forward to seeing who will be joining us for our Fantastic Fives – whilst seeing where the discussions for these topics take us all throughout the month. Which of these topics do you think you’ll love to write about the most!? Which do you think will be challenging!?
Thank you in advance for joining us!
and, now dear hearts,
I shall leave you with an invitation
to Kindly visit my co-hosts:
You’ll have to let me know if you’re participating this year with us
during #WyrdAndWonder in the comments below this post!
For those who want to let us know officially their joining us – fill out this form.
Want to pre-schedule your blog & socials? – Add your content to the Master Schedule!
The beauty of #WyrdAndWonder itself- is being able to escape into the realms of Fantasy and seek out the fantastical – however which way that might personally appeal to the reader and the seeker! Let us help you adventure with us whilst seeing what you’ve decided to read, listen or watch throughout May! I hope some of the authors I’ve read and reviewed over the years have sparked a curiosity in you to seek out yourself and likewise, I know I’ve been wicked inspired throughout the years to seek out new authors myself. (Visit Jorie’s #WyrdAndWonder archives)
Whether this is your fifth year or your first, we welcome you to #WyrdAndWonder! Join us as we dip our bookish hearts into this region of Speculative Fiction which gets us wickedly giddy with expectations and imaginative blissitudes!
These link to their individual announcements!
Lisa + Imyril + Annemieke + Ariana
via Twitter: @deergeekplace + @Imyril + @Signourney + @queenzucchini
via Insta: @deargeekplace + @Imyril
+ @inlinewithannemieke + @booknookreview
Be sure to keep a watchful eye on our @WyrdAndWonder feeds for the content we’ll be sharing as we move closer towards May; expect monthly engagements from the Power of Five – across social channels & our blogs. We are happily ready to start visiting blogs & start the Fantastical conversations which we know will be enjoyed by all who LOVE Fantasy! Join us for our 5th Year and let it be fantastically engaging for everyone who joins us on this adventure.
{SOURCES: Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets were embedded due to codes provided by Twitter. Wyrd And Wonder 2022 banners and badges, as well as the Fantastic Fives badge created by Imyril (Image Credit: tree wolf image by chic2view on 123RF.com) and is used with permission. Wyrd And Wonder Bingo Card (5th Year) created by Imyril whilst crediting the artists under the graphic and is used with permission. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: #TopFiveSaturday (Wyrd And Wonder edition) badge, #SatBookChat badge, #SatBookChat WyrdAndWonder Chat Schedule banner and the Comment Box Banner.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2022.
Help us get the signal out about #WyrdAndWonder
and share our #TopFiveSaturday Tweets with your followers!
.@wyrdandwonder New #TopFiveSaturday🎊
🗒️5x Posts from the Power Of Five
📢4x Guest Authors via @SatBookChat
during #WyrdAndWonder celebrating #IndieFantasy!🐺💜https://t.co/g0iZt0WiqW pic.twitter.com/IOyhsbRt7D
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) April 16, 2022
.@SatBookChat NEW chats!
*waves!* I have some wicked announcements — this MAY #WyrdAndWonder is taking over #SatBookChat! 4x Indie #Fantasy authors are going to discuss their stories – all of whom feature strong women!👍
Mark the dates!🦋☕️
More info: https://t.co/2NYgQHZ4n4 pic.twitter.com/9OT4kFTNoa
— #SatBookChat (@SatBookChat) April 16, 2022
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