I have the pleasure of hosting today's tour stop for Joshua Khan's new book
Burning Magic. Please enjoy a guest post from the author right after the synopsis of the book.
When Lily, aka the "witch queen" and bat-rider extraordinaire Thorn travel to Sultanate of Fire, things go terribly wrong. Instead of celebrating a reunion with their old friend K'leef, they are thrust into royal murder, an epic quest, and a deadly battle for the throne.
While investigating the murder, Lily learns shocking truths about her life that could destroy all she has achieved. Yet, among the ruins of her old life, she has the opportunity to become someone greater . . . and more terrifying.
Thorn and the magnificent bat, Hades, join the timid K'leef and the idiotic Gabriel Solar in a quest to find a phoenix. These fire birds are the key to saving the sultanate, but they nest within the Shardlands. The boys must defeat not only the monsters of that magical wilderness, but also rivals eager to claim the throne for themselves. Rivals that include a renegade from House Shadow.
Guest Post Topic: Please tell us a little bit about your writing process and what lead you to writing the Shadow Magic series. Did you have the ending for BURNING MAGIC in mind when you first started SHADOW MAGIC? Have the characters surprised you with where their journeys ended up leading you to write them? Please give us a small peak into your book with a set of your favorite quotes from the story!
I wanted to do the ‘anti-fantasy’ fantasy! It was that simple. So I looked at what the biggest clichés were within the genre, then did the opposite. So, in no particular order:
1. The quest. The fantasy genre is dominated by a band of heroes going on a journey. Nope. SHADOW MAGIC basically takes place in one building, Castle Gloom.
2. Dark sorcerers are the BIG BADS. Sauron, Voldemort, Loki, Hecate are prime examples of evil sorcerers. Nope. My heroine, Lily Shadow, is a necromancer descended from a long line of dark sorcerers and couldn’t be prouder of her blood line.
3. You have to have dragons. Nope. If the book was being set in a kingdom of darkness I wanted monsters that suit the setting. So… giant vampire bats. One in particular called Hades. He’s old, grouchy, stubborn and all together unpleasant but the most loyal ally you could ever have, if you earn his respect. Which is nigh-on impossible.
4. The world is neatly divided into Good and Evil. This goes back to Point 2. I wanted the world to be ever evolving. Good guys become villains, bad guys can end up heroes. Things change, for better and for worse. The hardest thing in the world is knowing the difference between good and evil, it’s trickier than you think. Thorn, my peasant boy hero in the books, knows the difference, and will do the right thing no matter what trouble it gets him into. If Lily is a bit more cunning, thinking things ahead, then Thorn is more headstrong, and honest.
5. The wizards are kindly advisors. This goes way back to Merlin. The wizard helps the hero, but stands to the side. Nope. Lily takes centre stage. This is a world created, and ruled, by magic. It is not discreet or hidden. It is in your face!
The SHADOW MAGIC trilogy grew out of those concepts. Sure, there will be books that have done one or the other already, but I wanted to embrace the opposites! One of the most thoughtful characters in the books is Tyburn, a ruthless executioner. But he serves Lily, and is training Thorn, so you see there is more to him that his fearfully exterior.
BURNING MAGIC is the big pay off. The whole series has been centered around Lily’s rebellion against the oldest law of the New Kingdoms, that women cannot practice magic. She trained herself in dark magic to protect her people, and BURNING MAGIC is about the consequences of coming out in the open. It goes into the very origins of magic. The Six Princes were the first sorcerers, and it was they who laid the law against women sorcerers. Why? What were they trying to hide? You find out in BURNING MAGIC!
Thorn’s character surprised me most of all. He doesn’t have an ounce of magic in him, yet he stands up against all dangers and opponents. Lily may be the witch queen, but Thorn is her equal. He doesn’t think you’re better because you’re born rich, or in a palace.
And it’s not just because of his archery, or skill with animals, it’s to do with his honesty. He sees things as they really are, and knows what’s the right thing to do. He doesn’t get lost in second guessing. The more I wrote about him, the more I realized that was a unique skill, a power in its own right. A true hero does what’s right, irrespective of the consequences or the dangers to themselves. That is Thorn. It made writing the story tricky at times. Thorn would do something that would get him in a lot of trouble, and the others work hard to get him out! The whole plot of BURNING MAGIC kicks off because Thorn does the right thing, and chaos ensues, as it inevitably does when Thorn’s involved.
QUOTES:
“The wedding was all set and moving along nicely until the king ate one of the heralds.”
“She thought she’d take the zombies on holiday?”
“My grandpa has special pants, too.”
“Take the boy and put him on the pyre!”
“At least the left us the bathtub.”
“Kill the witch!”
“Go to the Pit, and you will hear my name whispered by the dukes of hell!”
“My name is Lilith Hecate Shadow!”
Disclosure: I received a free copy of the book to facilitate my posting. Contents of this article were provided by the author.
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