Welcome back (or for the first time) to Mera's YA Book List!
If you are unaware we are in day two of the Euterpe YA Event, which we are ecstatically hosting!
If you are unaware we are in day two of the Euterpe YA Event, which we are ecstatically hosting!
Post one for the day (and post four in the event) comes for author Arley Cole!
Arley Cole is the author of The Blacksmith's Daughter, which won First Place YA Novel at the OKRWA International Digital Awards this year.
Keep reading for Arley's awesome guest post and a majorly awesome giveaway!
Keep reading for Arley's awesome guest post and a majorly awesome giveaway!
My mom read my book.
This is actually a pretty big deal because her favored reading material is the exact opposite of fantasy or speculative fiction (I got that from my dad). She’s very much into bonnet romance—you know, Amish love stories, very sweet, very inspirational. And I’m not going to knock that for a minute. I love a sweet story as much as anybody else.
But I can’t help writing fantasy. I cut my reading eyeteeth on Madeleine L’Engle and the Narnia books. The Wizard of Oz series holds a significant place in the development of my personality. As I got older, I found Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonrider saga and Roger Zelazny’s Amber series. Those books, along with Georgette Heyer (Regency Romance novelist extraordinaire), really shaped what I like to read and therefore what I like to write.
I write fantasy not to escape reality, but because it allows us to explore human truth in ways that the real world doesn’t. I’m not saying it’s all just metaphor, but truly we do live in a world full of monsters where magical things frequently happen. We just call those monsters by other names—stress, exams, or that mean girl who posts nasty things about us on Facebook. Our magic takes place every day as we ride in a car to get somewhere really fast or text a friend who is literally around the world in order to share our thoughts –telepathy anyone?
When I write fantasy, I can give my heroine a sword and let her kick monster butt. I can turn my hero into a wizard even though he doesn’t want to become one. I am so jealous of them! I’d love to be able to solve my problems with a good monster whipping, and figuring out LinkedIn has become my very own magical cauldron of pain!
My mom doesn’t really get that. She’s a very practical lady. But she did tell me she stayed up until midnight reading because she had to find out what happened next to the characters she’d come to love even though their names were “not normal.” I count that as my best review.
How about you? Do you like fantasy? Why? Who shaped your reading/writing experience? Do we have anybody in common? I’d love to hear back!
The Blacksmith’s DaughterBy Arley Cole
She believes she is only a blacksmith's daughter, but he must discover the truth or risk losing his land---and his life.
Acwellen Lex'Magen rules as liege lord of a small country bounded by forbidding mountains and powerful neighbors. When the neighboring baron, allied with a powerful wizard, attempts to take over his land, first by political, then by covert means, Acwellen finds an ally of his own in Enith Roweson, an unassuming blacksmith who possesses powers he's only known of in legends. As he attempts to unravel both the plots against him----including the nature of the monsters sent to assassinate him----and the mysterious powers Enith is only beginning to understand she has, he also finds himself falling in love with the blacksmith's daughter.
Acwellen Lex'Magen rules as liege lord of a small country bounded by forbidding mountains and powerful neighbors. When the neighboring baron, allied with a powerful wizard, attempts to take over his land, first by political, then by covert means, Acwellen finds an ally of his own in Enith Roweson, an unassuming blacksmith who possesses powers he's only known of in legends. As he attempts to unravel both the plots against him----including the nature of the monsters sent to assassinate him----and the mysterious powers Enith is only beginning to understand she has, he also finds himself falling in love with the blacksmith's daughter.
Arley Cole lives with her husband and kids in the wilds of West Alabama along with her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Bruno. Now on her fourth career, she has spent most of her life writing for other people, but these days she is writing for herself. The Blacksmith’s Daughter is her first novel, but not her last as she is already at work on the sequel, The Merchant’s Son. Come visit her blog at www.arleycole.blogspot.com. Connect with me! I love to talk with readers!
www.fanfiction.net/~arcole (Yep, I write LOTS of fanfiction too! Keeps the brain greased.)
GIVEAWAY!!!!
One ebook copy of The Blacksmith’s Daughter
One signed promotional print copy of The Blacksmith's Daughter
This one is a rafflecopter! Enter each option as you please! Winners will be chosen at the event's close!
Two individual winners! No duplicates. If you win the print copy please have parental permission to receive packages via the internet if necessary.
Good luck!
This one is a rafflecopter! Enter each option as you please! Winners will be chosen at the event's close!
Two individual winners! No duplicates. If you win the print copy please have parental permission to receive packages via the internet if necessary.
Good luck!
Get your copy of The Blacksmith’s Daughter at:
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/98089
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