Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

Today marks my second guest author feature for my Odyssey Books showcases for Wyrd And Wonder! The beauty of hosting a variety of authors from this Indie Publisher is the ability to find new voices in Fantasy I am desiring to read myself whilst opening the door of possibility to my fellow readers who are following the feeds for #WyrdAndWonder!

I love being able to share my journey of discovery – this is partially what inspired me to become a social reader – sharing my thoughts directly on my blog as I read and review the stories whilst I can converse and offer guest posts to authors who want to tuck closer to their stories, their characters and how they’ve built their worlds for us to explore. Guest features allow all of us to go a bit past the cursory viewing of a story – to pull back the layers of its context and seek out the heart – the part of the story which will last with us long after we’ve reached the final chapter.

What inspired me to host Ms Taylor and feature “The Shadow of the Skytree” is the heart of the story – rooted in the mythological roots of dwarves, gnomes and elves – this rather contemporary parallel story involves a pandemic of its own (though not intentional to parlay into our current living reality; simply well-timed!) whilst an author chooses to explore creatures mostly known for living in either one of Tolkien’s Classics and/or a Tolkien variant of a world by another author.

I understood her need to breakaway from the traditional ‘voice’ and ‘presence’ of dwarves – as not too many are broaching into this area of Fantasy wherein to perceive them differently than they’ve been voiced previously. One author I came across I gave full respect for how he conceived of his dwarves within the sphere of his novel “The Brotherhood of the Dwarves” (by D.A. Adams). It wasn’t a good fit for me as a reader to move further into his series but I shared why I was surprisingly happy to find at the heart of his narrative why loyalty, friendship and forgiveness are ever so important for everyone. I also talked a bit more about his dwarves and how he approached writing the story – what took me out of the context directly was the level of violence – as I’m a more sensitive reader than most when it comes to overt violence and bloodshed which can be rampant in Fantasy.

I’ve had held an open eye out for new stories involving dwarves all of these years – however, I never could quite get as excited about reading one of those stories as I have now with “The Shadow of the Skytree”. Something about this story and how Taylor approached writing it seemed to speak to me as a reader. This is why it was a special blessing to be able to interview her and to dive closer into how she built this world!

I didn’t get a chance to gather a copy of this novel during #WyrdAndWonder – however, after putting together this conversation – reading through the author’s replies and getting a solid feel for the storyline – I am definitely wicked curious to know ‘what comes’ next as soon as my eyes lock onto the chapters! 

Brew yourself a cuppa and enjoy what I have to share with you,…

The Shadow of the Skytree
by K.J. Taylor

The reserved elf Lyell Blackfletch is an ambassador for his people – and the holder of a dark secret. Plague is spreading among the human race, with the fire-loving dwarves already driven to the edge of extinction. Only the human Fiorella is close to finding a cure for the sickness, and with her death it is up to her friend Lavender the gnome to deliver it to her people in the steam-powered city of Vaporcitta.

Naïve but rebellious, Lavender chooses to place her trust in Lyell – but is her confidence in the cold-hearted elf misplaced? With the cure stolen and a secret genocide uncovered, they must both make a choice – but it may already be too late.

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781925652796

Genres: Australian Lit, Fantasy Fiction, YA Fantasy

Published by Odyssey Books

on 25th November, 2019

Published by: Odyssey Books (@OdysseyBooks)

Converse via: #HistoricalFantasy, #YAFantasy, #TalesOfTarya
as well as #OdysseyBooks & #WyrdAndWonder

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