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Showing posts with label the lichgates hidden world blog tour. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the lichgates hidden world blog tour. Show all posts
The Lichgates Hidden World Blog Tour is making its final stop here at Word Spelunking with a giveaway! I've had a blast being a part of this awesome tour! Be sure to check out my review of Lichgates and an interview with S.M. Boyce too! Watch the video below to learn more and enter the giveaway by filling out the Rafflecopter form below...
Today, the Lichgates Hidden World Blog Tour is making its second stop here at Word Spelunking and I'm excited to have author S.M. Boyce here today for an interview. Make sure to check out my review of the very awesome Lichgates and come back 3/12 for the giveaway! And check out the video below to watch S.M. introduce today's post...
Q. What three words best describe Lichgates? Breathtaking magical adventure.
Q. Can you tell us a bit more about Lichgates and The Grimoire Trilogy it belongs to? Lichgates is the first novel in the Grimoire Trilogy: a young adult fantasy adventure that takes us into a hidden world called Ourea. Ourea is a beautiful place full of terrifying things that are searching for a lost book called the Grimoire. A hiker named Kara Magari has no idea what she’s getting into when she falls into this crazy world and opens the very book everyone is hunting. To read the full book blurb, see the trailer, and even read the first chapter for free, click here. The trilogy has a ton of bonus material in addition to the three central books. You have completely free access to an online encyclopedia of the world, available on the book website. There will also be a collection of short stories and deleted chapters, as well as a few novellas told from the perspectives of your favorite side characters. I’m still planning and working on the novellas, so if there is a character you want to know more about, just drop me a line to let me know. I love connecting with readers!
Q. Where did the idea for this series come from? Was the idea behind the series inspired by anything or was it simply a creation of your imagination? The world of the Grimoire Trilogy snowballed into existence. I’ve spent seven years writing it, and in that time, it has developed into what I think is a believable world full of incredible creatures, magic, and power. I took inspiration from small things: wouldn’t it be cool if someone could change into any creature imaginable? What would their natural form look like? What if all the information in the world could exist in a single book? Who would want it, and who would use it? Answering those questions has been a great adventure for me, and I hope it’s as exciting for you to experience the novel for yourself.
Q. Do you have a favorite character from Lichgates? As you continue to write the trilogy have any of your characters surprised you by evolving in ways that you initially never planned? I’ve been writing and planning this series for years, so it’s incredible to see how the characters have evolved in that time. Some have cropped up only in the last year, while others are gone forever. The two main characters, especially, have blown me away with their complexity. Their flaws and strengths come out in the novel in ways even I hadn’t expected, and they will continue to grow throughout the series. My favorite character is actually a tie between Deirdre and Kara. Kara is one of the two main characters through whom we see the story, and she and I share the same sense of humor. But Deirdre is one of the villains and is without a doubt the most severely disturbed of any character in the series, as you start to discover in the Lichgates epilogue. It is for that reason that she fascinates me; I both love and hate her. Needless to say, I don’t think I’d survive a run-in with her if she was real.
Q. What do you love most about writing fantasy fiction? I love the ability to crossover into the impossible and see it for myself. I create worlds in which cities exist in golden domes beneath the water and float on clouds. I meet incredible races that have fantastic powers, and I get the chance to explore these bizarre worlds for myself. It’s a dream come true.
Q. In your trilogy, the Grimoire is a book that will answer any question asked of it…what one question would you ask it? That’s one of the best interview questions I’ve ever been asked. If I only had one question to ask the Grimoire, it would be “How can I learn to master magic?” Magic fascinates me, and to be able to use and control it would be one of the coolest things in this world.
Q. If you could magically transport yourself into any made up world from any book, which would you choose? What would you do there? I would go to Narnia because Lewis populated his world with magical creatures and talking animals. There are so many neat beings there that I would just walk around, talking to and meeting as many of them as I could.
Q. Who’s your favorite literary villain…who do you just love to hate or hate to love? This one is actually kind of hard for me to answer. Usually, I look for the goodness in any character, because no true literary villain is one-dimensional enough to not have a shred of good or well-meaning in them. If I had to pick a villain, though, I would have to choose Smog from The Hobbit. He is the physical embodiment of not only our childhood fears, but also the fears which stick with us throughout our lives. He is massive, clever, and a real threat, and I have respect for his character because of it.
Q. What’s the one book you think everybody should read at least once? The Hobbit by Tolkien! It’s an easy book to read and yet it’s brimming with magic, adventure, and charming characters. It’s about friendship, trust, and facing your fears. It’s just an amazing book.
Q. If you were to bake a cupcake inspired by your novel Lichgates, what flavor would it be, what would it look like and what would you call it? Alright, let’s see. Vanilla almond cupcake. Blackberry mint frosting that’s coated on five different sides in each of the kingdoms’ colors: black, blue, green, pearl-white, and silver. It would be sprinkled with white chocolate chips and have a single, butterfly-shaped candy. I’d call it the Lichgate Cupcake, since it’ll take you to another world full of deliciousness. Is that cheesy? It’s okay, so am I…
Thank you so much S.M. Boyce for taking the time to answer my questions and giving us all a chance to get to know you and your work better!
I'm excited to have the The Lichgates Hidden World Blog Tour is stopping here today with my review of Lichgates. Make sure to come back on 3/9 when this blog tour stops by again with an interview with author S.M. Boyce and again on 3/12 for a giveaway. And before you read my review check out the video below where S.M. Boyce tells you all about this tour!
TITLE: Lichgates SERIES: The Grimoire Trilogy #1 AUTHOR: S.M. boyce PUB DATE: 10/14/11 FORMAT: ebook SOURCE: from author
The Grimoire turns its own pages and can answer any question asked of it, and Kara Magari is its next target. She has no idea what she's getting herself into when she stumbles across the old book while hiking a hidden trail. Once she opens it, she's thrown into Ourea: a beautiful world full of terrifying things that all want the Grimoire's secrets. Everyone in this new world is trying to find her, and most want to control her. Braeden Drakonin grew up in Ourea, and all he’s ever known of life is lying. The Grimoire is his one chance at redemption, and it lands in his lap when Kara Magari comes into his life. He has one question to ask the book – one question that can fix everything in his broken life – and he’s not letting Kara out of his sight until he gets an answer. There’s no escaping Ourea. There’s no going back now
THREE WORDS:Superb World Building
MY REVIEW:S.M. Boyce’s Lichgates, the first book in the Grimoire Trilogy, is a lush fantasy, rich in vibrant details, excellent world-building and stellar writing.
Twenty-year old Kara accidently walks through a gate into the beautiful, but dangerous world of Ourea, and discovers the Grimoire, a book that turns its own pages and answers any question asked of it. The Grimoire contains the soul of the first Vagabond, a powerful being, and upon finding this book Kara becomes the new Vagabond and keeper of its secrets. Kara soon finds that being the Vagabond is anything but easy and that the different kingdoms of Ourea are out to control her and the Grimoire’s power. Kara finds an ally in Braeden, a native of Ourea who has deadly secrets of his own. Together, Kara and Braeden set out to bring peace to Ourea and must battle with many demons (both literal and figurative) along the way.
Lichgates is a wonderfully crafted and executed first volume in the Grimoire Trilogy. Boyce offers readers an exciting and enthralling mix of fantasy, humor and romance. The fantasy world Boyce has created in Lichgates is inventive, refreshing and captivatingly imaginative.
The story paces nicely throughout the book, and Boyce takes the time to introduce readers to her world and characters without dumping too much information, backstory or plot onto readers at one time. Boyce’s writing is smart, impressive and entertaining; she clearly understands the fantasy genre well. And the author does a fantastic job of balancing fantasy with real life situations, humor with the serious, and action scenes with more personal, intimate and character defining moments.
As I stated above, the world-building in this book is superb. The magical and mysterious world of Ourea simply comes alive through Boyce’s writing. I had no trouble being able to imagine every detail of this world, but the world-building goes beyond just the vivid physical description. Boyce has added very important historical, political and cultural layers to her world of Ourea, and its individual kingdoms, creating a very dimensional, believable and well defined world.
There is a large cast of characters, but the story revolves mostly around a few key characters, all of which are compelling in their own ways. Kara is an easily relatable and likable heroine. She’s smart, brave and capable, but she’s also flawed. Kara is far from perfect- she’s stubborn, speaks without thinking, rash and a bit reckless-but I love that about her because a) it makes her so relatable and b) it gives her a lot of room to grow as a character. And her character does evolve and grow, and naturally so. Braeden is such an intriguing character because there’s a great deal of depth to him and struggle within him, which, again, is a testament to Boyce’s fine writing. He’s definitely a swoon-worthy character, but I liked that my swooning over him didn’t keep me from questioning his motives and loyalty. As a duo, Kara and Braeden make for an enticing and amusing pair; there’s a natural chemistry and spark between these two.
The fantasy elements are truly fantastical, wondrous and an exciting blend of the whimsical and the dark. I was pleasantly surprised with the humor within this book and how much I actually laughed. Kara has a sharp, acerbic wit that comes out at the perfect times and is very amusing. The action is pretty awesome; Boyce certainly knows how to write a thrilling, violent fight scene!
The book wraps up nicely, offering answers and explanations to many of the questions presented in the beginning, while at the same time creating many more. The ending is satisfying, yet will leave readers ready and wanting for more.
MY FINAL THOUGHTS:I really enjoyed delving into this book and cannot wait to see where Kara’s story goes. S.M. Boyce proves to be a wonderful new voice in fantasy. Lichgates is a grand and captivating first volume in what is sure to be a standout fantasy trilogy.
