NEW RELEASE: Wilder Mage by CD Coffelt

Now this book isn't strictly YA, but it's written by someone who has reviewed my books in the past and as a way to support her, I want to tell the world about her latest release!

The earthquake wasn’t his fault. Not this time.
Justus Aubre is a wilder. A mage unbound to the Imperium, and therefore a dangerous wild card in their eyes. The Imperium wants him, wants his power, but Justus has hidden for many years and now has some semblance of a normal life. All that’s about to change when Sable Rounds walks through the door of his antique shop, looking for work. Justus instantly knows what Sable is, he just doesn’t know the danger he’s in.
Alone, also on the run from the Imperium, Sable longs for a normal life. For somewhere to belong. She finds this when Justus hires her, but she knows it’s temporary and fragile, an illusion. Though she hates to think about it, she knows that one day she will have to move on.
The Imperium is always behind her, waiting. When they finally find Sable, they find Justus. And all hell’s about to break loose.

Bio:
CD Coffelt lives outside Maryville, Missouri with a bemused husband and way too many cats. She adores all things fantasy with a special love for urban and epic.
 
With a passion for good writing and Doritos as companions, locating Middle-Earth on a dusty road in rural Missouri wasn’t difficult. All it took was a little Magic, hours of reading, and an overactive imagination.
You can visit her blog at www.spiritcalled.blogspot.com.

Wilder Mage
CD Coffelt, Huntress
Musa Publishing
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Discussion Time - Paranormal vs. Realistic Fiction

As part of the face lift of this blog, we thought it'd be fun to bring in some discussion times. It's fun to find out what other people think about different aspects of YA and we welcome your thoughts in the comments section.

The argument I've put forward is: Paranormal vs. Realistic Fiction.

Which genre do you prefer reading?

Most of the stories I used to dream up were always contemporary/realistic in nature, but then Twilight came out. This was my first experience of paranormal and I loved it. I devoured the books and so far, have enjoyed every movie.

It was after seeing Twilight that I wanted to give paranormal writing a go. I wrote the Time Spirit Trilogy and had so much fun with it. Since then, I have basically only read paranormal books and I am now working on a fantasy trilogy.

Now - this does not in anyway suggest that I no longer enjoy contemporary/realistic fiction. The honest truth is, I prefer reading realistic stories. I'm all about the relationships in books and there's something about the realism of contemporary novels that I really love.

I have some contemporary stories in my head that I hope to write some day, but for now I'll keep playing with the magical realms of paranormal and fantasy. I definitely think there is room for both in my writing career, but I didn't realise until planning this post how much I do love reading a realistic love story.

Do you like the realism of contemporary or the magic of paranormal?
What makes you prefer one over the other?

Friday Favourites - Magic!

As some of you know, I'm trying my hand at a fantasy trilogy. I am still in the research/planning stages, so it's still a little baby waiting to grow.

One thing I'm having to consider is what type of magic I want to use and which characters can use it.

Do I want wands or a staff like Gandalf has in Lord of the Rings?

Do I want the characters to have natural magical ability, kind of like they do in X-Men?

Do I want it to be more witch-like and involve magical potions or special elixirs like in Harry Potter?

What type of magic do you like to read about in books?
What's your favourite book with magic in it and what did you love about it?

MP

Friday Favourites - Worlds

I have spent this week planning out a new trilogy that I'm hoping to publish next year. It's a fantasy, which I've never tried before and I can already see that it's going to be a huge challenge for me.

A few days ago I started penciling out a world for these characters to "play" in. It was really fun coming up with names for different places and designing what the world will look like in my head. I had to decide how far I was going to go and I made the decision not to be too extreme. I'm sticking to scenery that we see in the world we live in. I will add a few magical elements here and there, but on the whole when the reader is reading this book, they should have some sense of what the world looks like without me having to go into copious, descriptive details.

My reason for doing this, is that I am a very character based writer. I like my stories to spend a lot of time on the relationship between the characters and the internal struggles they are dealing with. My stories are always dialogue and action heavy. I don't want to spend too much time visually creating a world that the reader has to work extra hard to connect with, because there's nothing they can compare it to.

I was thinking about some of the fantasy or sci-fi movies I love and picturing the worlds they live in. I love Lord of the Rings because I feel as though it's magic in the real world. It's the same with Harry Potter. I know there are creatures in both those movies that don't exist, but the landscape and environments are things we can relate to.

Avatar, on the other hand, is a whole new world with plant life and animals that are completely new to us. It's the same with the Star Wars movies. Now don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed Avatar and I have loved Star Wars since I was a kid, but I think I prefer stories that have slightly more realism, yet still a sense of magic.

What do you prefer?
Are there any worlds you have discovered in books or movies that you've fallen in love with?