Spotlight & Author Interview: Silver in the Mist, by Emily Victoria

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Silver in the Mist
Silver in the Mist
by Emily Victoria
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Publishing Date: November 1, 2022

 

Eight years ago, everything changed for Devlin: Her country was attacked. Her father was killed. And her mother became the Whisperer ofAris, the head of the spies, retreating into her position away from everyone… even her daughter.Joining the spy ranks herself, Dev sees her mother only when receiving assignments. She wants more, but she understands the peril their country, Aris, is in.The malevolent magic force of The Mists is swallowing Aris’s edges, their country is vulnerable to another attack from their wealthier neighbor, and the magic casters who protect them from both are burning out.Dev has known strength and survival her whole life, but with a dangerous new assignment of infiltrating the royal court of their neighbor country Cerena to steal the magic they need, she learns that not all that glitters is weak. And not all stories are true.

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Author Interview:

1. What inspired you to write this book, or how did the idea start? 
When I start writing a book, it is often the magic system that comes to me first. In this case, I had an idea for this malevolent magical force that was slowly swallowing up every corner of a world and that had monsters of silvered lightning within it.

Once I had that seed of an idea, I had to decide what sort of characters I wanted to populate the world with. At first I thought of selecting a mage as a main character, but I wanted someone different: someone who wouldn’t be able to beat magic with magic but who had to beat magic with her mind and other skills. I’ve always found spies fascinating, and so I settled on the idea to make the main character a spy.

2. What, if anything, did you learn when writing the book?
Writers always joke that you should never look at their search history. For this book, I had to research spies (from the past) which also meant researching what sort of weapons they might have used and how those weapons worked. So yes, don’t look at my search history.

3. What surprised you the most in writing it?
What surprised me the most was everything that I discovered about the world. I started with a basic idea, but I quickly discovered all these nooks and crannies to the world that I couldn’t have imagined when I first started (for example, of the two countries in the book, one quickly moved in a science-oriented direction and the other in an art-oriented direction, which I wasn’t expecting).

World-building is one of my favorite aspects of writing, so I loved being able to expand the world and learn more about it as I wrote.

4. If it’s not a spoiler, what does the title mean?
It’s definitely not a spoiler. The Mists is the name of the malevolent magical force in the book (as you can probably guess from the name, it looks like mists).

For the silver part, the magic that the characters use in the book is called casting and it creates a beautiful magic that looks like silver filigree. So that is the silver reference in the title.

5. Were any of the characters inspired by real people? If so, do they know?
Devlin was heavily inspired by me. Well, at least in identity (we’re both aroace). I’d like to say Devlin and I are similar personality-wise, but I’m probably a closer personality match to Alyse since we’re both cinnamon rolls.

6. Do you consider the book to have a lesson or moral?
I don’t like to be too heavy-handed with lessons or morals in my books, but I do like writing towards the characters realizing something about themselves and their world. In this case, the characters have to learn to work together and to trust each other, even though they have all of this bad history between them. The book is about learning to find those similarities that unite people.

7. What is your favorite part of the book?
I definitely have some favorite parts that are quite spoiler-y, but one that isn’t a spoiler is when Devlin first goes undercover as a lady of the court and meets Alyse. It was really fun writing the sort of dance that was the beginning of their relationship, as Devlin was trying to learn all of these new court rules while still getting the trust and information that she needed from Alyse.

8. Which character was most challenging to create? Why?
I would say Devlin’s mother, the Whisperer (head spy) of Aris. Devlin and her mother have a very complicated relationship and at times her mother is an antagonistic force. However, I wanted to explore all the different sides of her and the relationship that she has with her daughter, not just the negative parts. I hope I did a good job on her and that she’ll have some surprises in store for you!

9. What are your immediate future plans?
Most immediately, of course, is just making sure to have fun with the first few weeks of Silver in the Mist’s release. My last book, This Golden Flame, came out during the height of the pandemic and the restrictions, so this book release will be my first time really doing things in person.

For books, though, my next release will be a short story in the anthology Being Ace. I’m also working on a full-length work.


About the Author:

Emily Kundrik

Emily Victoria is an aroace Canadian prairie girl who writes young adult science fiction and fantasy. When not word-smithing, she likes walking her over-excitable dog, drinking far too much tea, and crocheting things she no longer has the space to store. Her librarian degree allows her to take home far too many books.

 

Spotlight & Excerpt: Meraki + Giveaway

BANNER Meraki by Naomi Kelly TOUR

Welcome to the Magic Pen Book Tours‘ organized tour for Meraki: A Syren Story by Naomi Kelly taking place September 5-9, 2022!

Book Details

0 COVER MERAKI

Title: Meraki: A Syren Story

Series: Syren Stories #1

Author: Naomi Kelly

Genres: Young Adult Fantasy / Enemies-to-Lovers Romance, Mythology

Release date: May 1, 2020

Publisher: Indie published

Pages: 237

BLURB

Her song is a gift bestowed by the gods; so why does it feel like a curse?

Seventeen-year-old Wren thinks she has just swum away from the greatest threat in the sea. That’s until she finds herself being hauled upon a warlord’s boat. With her life at the mercy of a young, temperamental King, Wren must decide who is her ultimate enemy.

Can Fate be altered? What do gods have planned?

Syrens are bound to tell the truth, but that doesn’t mean their lives cannot be riddled with lies.

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Free with Kindle Unlimited

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EXCERPT

“Kellan,” I croak but he does not hear me. I barely hear myself over his raspy chanting.
He calls on the gods using their archaic, mostly forgotten prayers. The consecrated chant is mainly gibberish to my ringing ears, but a single word resonates within my core.
Meraki. The ancient concept of pouring a piece of your soul into something you cherish. He smears an old symbol onto my arm, over and over until I feel the movement even without him touching me.
I feel clammy against his heat, yet I do not move away. Maybe it’s because I am too weak. Maybe it’s because I don’t want to. I guess there are worse places to die. The babble of the town fades away until I hear nothing but Kellan.
Meraki.
Meraki.
Meraki.

My body shudders once, then I go limp in his hold.

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Author Bio

naomi-kelly

Naomi Kelly is an indie YA Fantasy author living in Dublin, Ireland. Her descriptive writing style and love for all things magic and mythology make reading her stories the perfect escape from modern-day life.
She began her writing journey in Sept. 2019 when she released her first book, ‘Trial by Obsidian’.

Her duology series of “Meraki: A Syren Story” and the sequel “Kairos: A Syren Story” follow sassy syren Wren, the sassy syren who has just swum away from home only to find herself at the mercy of the young warlord.

AUTHOR’S LINKS: INSTAGRAM | GOODREADS | FACEBOOK | AMAZON | BOOKBUB

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Instagram GIVEAWAY!

Visit and follow @naomikellywriting and @magicpenbooktours on Instagram to enter a giveaway for a chance to win a paperback copy of Meraki: A Syren Story by Naomi Kelly. Check out #MerakiBookTour on Instagram for more entries.


Tour Schedule

September 5

Magic Pen Book Tours / @magicpenbooktours – Kick-off post

Journey in Bookland / @lady.of.bookland – Review + Excerpt/Teaser

Celticlady’s Reviews – Excerpt

Sadie’s Spotlight / @sadiesspotlight – Excerpt/Teaser

September 6

The Romance Book Fairy / @the.romance.book.fairy – Review + Excerpt/Teaser

Jazzy Book Reviews / @jazzybookreviews – Excerpt/Teaser

Mrs_r_books – Spotlight

September 7

@starlight.pages – Review + Creative post

@jl_books – Spotlight

#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog / @bookreviewvirginialee – Excerpt/Teaser

September 8

@literarymegg – Review + Creative post

Momma Says to Read or not to Read / @mommasaystoread – Excerpt/Teaser

Books a Plenty Book Reviews – Excerpt

September 9

@itsabookthing2021 – Review

Valerie Ullmer | Romance Author – Excerpt

@natnavarro75 – Spotlight

Books Writing and Coffee / @bookswrittingandcoffee – Excerpt/Teaser

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Thank you for stopping by, remember to visit other tour stops and enter the Instagram giveaway!

Tour organized by:
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Spotlight: Beguiled, by Cyla Panin

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Beguiled
by Cyla Panin
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Publishing Date: August 23, 2022

A dark and enthralling story about a young woman who makes a deal with a spirit to try and gain her independence—and the twisted price she has to pay for it

Ella is a 17-year-old weaver whose entire livelihood depends on her loom. She dreams of opening her own shop, but when her father died in debtor’s prison, she had to support herself by taking whatever clients she could get. In order to buy her supplies she goes into debt of her own, and when her loom breaks, Ella realizes she needs more help than a repairperson can give her. She, like everyone, has heard about the old washerwoman spirit called the Bean-Nighe who will grant any one wish—for a price.

But Ella is desperate, so she asks the Bean-Nighe to fix her loom. And it works. The loom is fixed, and she’s creating beautiful pieces she could have never imagined before. All she has to do is feed the loom a drop of blood each time she weaves—a small price to pay for such magnificent silks. And when she brings two bolts to a rich client, she meets a mysterious young man named Callum and bargains for an invitation to his exclusive party. At that party, he’s so mesmerized by her talent, he offers Ella a place to live and patronage for her art. It seems like Ella’s fortune is finally turning for the better . . . until she begins to notice the loom taking more from her than she offered.

As she becomes entangled in the lives of the city’s rich, swept into Callum’s allure, and trapped by the Bean-Nighe’s magic, Ella must figure out a way to secure her future while she still has a future at all.

Content Warning: mild self-harm, gaslighting and emotional abuse

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About the Author:
Cyla Panin is an MG, YA and Adult Author who prefers to look at the world through a dusting of magic.

After spending most of her childhood wanting to escape into the wonderful worlds her favourite authors created, she’s now using her own words to craft magical places. When not writing, Cyla can be found playing dinosaurs with her two young boys, watching swashbuckling and/or period TV shows with her husband, and, of course, reading.

Her YA debut, STALKING SHADOWS will be out with Amulet, Abrams Fall 2021. She is represented by Chloe Seager of the Madeleine Milburn Literary, TV, and Film Agency.

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