The Phantom of the Faerie Mountain by E M McIntyre

A first for my blog!

Today I'm posting an interview with E. M. McIntyre along with a review of her great YA novel The Phantom of Faerie Mountain. Onwards and upwards for Writer, haunted!

A quick blurb in italics first, then down to the nitty-gritty.

A telepathic dog. An ancient prophecy. Two devious faeries. 14 yr old Abby Fletcher must unravel their connection when she is thrown into a world of unknowns after receiving a mysterious message from a frightening beast: The Red King must set me free. Determined to discover the meaning of this puzzling phrase, Abby sets off to explore a nearby Scottish mountainside in search of clues. What Abby doesn't realize, however, is that it's not a matter of where she will find her answers but when. Whisked back to the early 14th century, Abby must find the courage to solve the mystery of the Red King and save not only herself but a group of powerless captives wrapped up in a faerie plot.

I always get a kick out of reading about everyday characters in out-of-the-ordinary situations. You get to see how the character reacts and grows as the story goes on. And Abby, the lead character, has a lot of growing to do in this, the first of a trilogy. She finds herself far from the home she knows, in more ways than one...

The story gets into high gear pretty quickly as our hero Abby receives a message from a strange creature in the fog. This is a big plus for me, as I'm not a fan of pages and pages of exposition. I like a story to start with the action, and that's how Phantom draws us in.

The Scottish setting isn't merely here for a different flavour, it's integral to the plot and I really enjoyed digging into the mythology of the creatures and faeries. Much like the Percy Jackson books thrive on the legends of Greek mythology, this book gains a distinct personality from its setting.

Dialogue is natural - including the Scottish character Rory, who is easy to read, and shouldn't be a problem for younger readers. The relationship between the two leads develops and a steady, believable rate too.

Also, the novel isn't overly long, and there's enough here to make me look forward to the next in the series. Oh, and it's not often you get a telepathic dog, so that's an automatic extra mark.

With fantasy, time-travel, and magic, there's plenty here for readers to enjoy. Recommended for readers between 10-14 in particular, although like any good fantasy story people of all ages can enjoy it.

A world well worth visiting.

RIGHT. Let's find out a bit about the author, shall we?

INTERVIEW WITH E. M. MCINTYRE

1.Why write?

When a photo is shared with me of a ‘tween’ with her nose shoved in a book (my book) and is seemingly lost within that world – this is why I write. When I see a teenager staring intently at a page of the same book, her brow furrowed as if upset or concerned – this is why I write. I write so young readers may find themselves swept away to another reality where they are free to ‘just be’ and imagine.

2.What are you most proud of within your work?

What I’m most proud of is twofold. As referenced above, it is humbling, amazing, and exciting to me to know something I’ve created is taking young readers to the same place I went at that age. To that place when I first discovered Pippi Longstocking, Nancy Drew, and the Hardy Boys, and later, Piers Anthony and his Xanth series, to name a few. I am also proud to have been awarded 5 accolades thus far for the first two books in my trilogy, it’s astonishing to me.

3.What’s your writing process? Anything you find easy or hard?

Before I can even begin writing a new project, I must have a solid outline planned, chapter by chapter. Otherwise, I’m quite certain my brain might explode. This is probably the hardest and slowest part of the process for me. I use Scrivener as my software of choice, and once said outline is accomplished, I’m ready to roll. I normally write both days on the weekends, locked away in my bedroom with only the hum of the fish tank next to me. I start as soon as I’ve had breakfast and work most of the day, breaking only for lunch, until I hit my quota.

4.Which book do you wish you had written and why?

While there are many amazing books already written by equally amazing authors, those books were theirs to write. What I do wish I had written were the many stories in my own mind waiting to be discovered decades ago. How nice it would have been to have started on the path of authorship a bit earlier.

5.If you were a food, what food would you be?

Cheese pizza with a sweet sauce and hand-tossed dough cooked to golden perfection.

6.Is there any hope for Planet Earth?

This is a tough one, as we all know there are so many negative things happening on and to our planet. I’d like to think our youngest generation and those yet to come will say ‘enough is enough’ and begin to heal not only the Earth but ourselves. The realist in me thinks it might be too late but I will always have hope.

Hope you all enjoyed reading this interview, and I'm hoping to post more in the future.

Check out The Phantom of Faerie Mountain here, bearing in mind that I only really recommend books here that I think you might enjoy, there's nothing random about my recommendations. Stop making the boring choices, people. Live a little.

Laters.

Book review: A Soul Divided by Daniel M. Quilter

Here, then, is the next phase in my stumbling efforts to support fellow indie authors. This is the first of a (probably very) occasional series of reviews, recommending works that could be well under your radar.

First up, David M. Quilter's A Soul Divided.

Amazon blurb incoming:

When the princess of the technologically advanced Human Empire is kidnapped by an agent of the Mystic religion, they’re forced to turn to the last person they’d ever expected to ask for help: Drake Ashbell, a snarky pirate who has a problem with authority, and a dark secret. 
When he’s pulled into the conflict, Drake finds himself caught up in a fast-paced adventure that will take him to distant worlds, make him face his tragic past, and test the limits of his soul.

Sci-fantasy. That's what we've got here. I'm far from the biggest sci-fi fan, (I enjoy it on the screen but don't follow much of what goes on in books) but I do think that magic in space is a pretty novel idea, and can't imagine that there's been too many variations on this idea. Immediately, then, there's a freshness to the work, difficult to achieve in any flooded field.

Things get off to a pretty quick start. Olivia, Princess of the Human Empire, looking forward to an evening of staring the stars, finds herself watching as five soldiers are taken down by a single man, and we're only a couple of pages in. The action is taut and tightly written throughout the book, and it's the speed of events that really helps the book. The ideas are a tad cliche, but when done with gusto the whole story makes for a rollicking adventure that will keep those pages turning.

The characters aren't the usual cardboard cut-outs either. Olivia in the above scene finds the confrontation an 'interesting' diversion from the norm. The brothers Vahn and Drake offer up interesting contrasts. Vahn, sent on a quest to find his criminal half-sibling, is diligent, Drake is a Han Solo-esque rogue with a knack for a snappy line (he's the kind of guy who'll jump through a window if you don't let him use the door). Not long after we meet Drake we're into a chase scene. In fact, it's to the book's credit that we never sit still for long periods of exposition. In that sense, A Soul Divided is very reminiscent of original trilogy Star Wars or Indiana Jones.

My only niggle is that the cover doesn't do a particularly good job of representing the story, so I recommend any prospective readers look past it (and we all know the proverb about judging and book covers...). There's a review I've seen that complains about the paragraphing, but that's not a problem I had, unless it applies to the print version? Anyway, kindle edition is laid out correctly and easy to read. A couple of editing issues here and there, nothing overly bothersome though.

A Soul Divided, then is recommended if you're after a real blast of adventure set around a solid magic system that sticks to its rules.

As a bonus, the kindle edition is only a couple of quid. Get it here

Back to promoting myself/babbling rubbish soon.

Laters