This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by
Goddess Fish Promotions. Angela will be awarding to a randomly drawn commenter during each week on the tour, a wall calendar print from http://www.cafepress.com/ennaraswag (Items can be exchanged for other equal or lesser value items from Ennara Swag on Cafepress.), and will award a t-shirt from http://www.cafepress.com/ennaraswag to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour (US ONLY).
See the Rafflecopter at the end of the post. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Welcome to Angela Myron for stopping by and talking with us today.
First, I’d like to thank you for having me on your blog today! Writing for this tour is a lot of fun.
You're welcome! Why YA (or Middle Grade) fiction? What draws you to it?
There are so many firsts in these formative years that I think it’s inherently an exciting time in life. Plus, in the Ennara series, I wanted to explore large themes, like the many tiny decisions that shape who a person will become. By following Ennara and her friends as they grow through adolescence, I’ve been able to look at what sets a person on their path in life.
Pretend your protagonist is at school and opens his/her locker – what will we see inside?
A dusty-rose colored cape with matching gloves, long brown leather boots and leather bodice armor. A notebook full of root words for spellcraft, alchemical recipes, maps, and monster descriptions. Several textbooks along the same subject lines. A long blue and golden wand. Photos of Kithe, her parents, Gevin and Smoos, her aunt and Tork. An energy potion and healing flask for emergencies. And a small painting of an empty throne in front of a tall waterfall.
What would you write in a letter to your teen self?
Don’t spend so much time worrying about what other people think of you. Just be you and focus on the people and things that make you happy. Be kind, not nice. Don’t take it personally when others are unkind—it always has more to do with their problems than it has to do with you. Not everyone sees the world the way you do, and they don’t need to.
What book is on your nightstand currently?
I’m starting book three of the Fablehaven series by Brendan Mull. It is the story of a 13 year-old girl and her 11 year-old brother who discover their secretive grandparents run a sanctuary for magical creatures. It’s really imaginative and I love seeing all of the different creatures and how they interact with the kids.
Which of your characters would you most like to meet IRL? Why?
Tork Vossen. He’s like the Indiana Jones of the wizards. When he’s not otherwise indisposed by strange monsters that absorb his mind, he’s running around the world searching for magical artifacts to bring to the Druidic Council in Icelan. Who wouldn’t want a young, handsome wizard to show up at their door and take them on an adventure?
What four literary characters would you most like to have over for dinner?
Aslan the lion from
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The mystical lion sang the world of Narnia into existence (the most beautiful scene I’ve ever read), performed the ultimate sacrifice to save his friends, and rose again, larger and more powerful. He’s a wonderful, inspiring metaphor and the first character I’d like to meet.
Charles Weasley from the Harry Potter series. He captures dragons for a living. How much cooler can he be?
Wren Elessedil from
The Elf Queen of Shannara. She’s a strong, smart, half-elf that grew up in a caravan of half-giants. Inherits the elven throne yet remains humble. Struggles to transform from a ranger-in-training to a leader of her lost people, and succeeds. She’d have some great stories to tell, and she’d just be fun to hang out with.
Winnie the Pooh. He’s so Zen! Plus, I really like honey.
Favorite pizza toppings.
Sundried tomatoes, goat cheese and spinach are the bomb on pizza. I love sausage and olives, too. Pineapple and ham, when the mood strikes, are super yummy too.
Thanks for all the great questions!
Thanks for all the great answers!! :-) Now, enjoy an excerpt from Ennara and the Fallen Druid.
Ennara shuffled to the rear of the cheese vendor’s stall, crouched low, and aimed. “Mag gwihuwo!”
A fine finger of black smoke curled toward the meat shop. As the ashy spell landed on the animal parts, they twitched. A woman walking by the stand shrieked. The butcher looked up, his eyes bigger than eggs and his mouth in an “O.” Several shoppers shouted in astonishment. Others yelled and ran.
A passing monk cried, “The devil is among us!” as six headless hens wriggled their way off the hooks and scrambled on the ground, flapping their featherless wings.
Then the lamb legs got free, and there they were, bouncing round the empty area in front of the butcher’s stall. The crowd parted. Some ran home. Others ran inside stores and shut the doors, but many stayed to see what would happen. The center of the plaza was clear except for the butcher, who hid in his stall clutching a cleaver, the city sentinel, still holding Kithe, Mr. Dulfsnark, a dozen reanimated chickens, five dancing legs of lamb, and a menacing zombie hog.
The watchman spun around as the gathering dispersed and saw the reanimated meat. “What the…?”
A chicken bolted for the man’s leg. He released his grip on Kithe and punted the creature away. The chicken flapped its wings as it whizzed through the air and smashed into a vegetable cart.
Mr. Dulfsnark made a mad grasp at a bouncing leg of lamb and struggled to hang on to it.
“Hey!” the butcher called, “You’ll be paying for the lamb, Dulfsnark!”
Eleven year-old Ennara Gaern has a serious grudge against the dragon on her right hand.
Born with a caul—a mask that foretold magical powers—she was immediately inked with the fiendish, fire-breathing tattoo that forces her to study boring texts, cover her hand continuously, and worst of all, keeps her from visiting the beautiful capital city, Dordonne. But her quiet life changes when one night she is attacked by a shadowy demon.
Tork, an old friend and wizard, is enlisted to help. But when he arrives, he informs Ennara’s parents that she is her world’s only hope of finding the legendary Sword of Gisilfrid, which is needed to destroy the curse that is creating the demons. Ennara doesn’t want to leave on the dangerous quest, but when she learns the curse threatens her world, she reluctantly agrees.
Ennara and the wizard begin a perilous journey to the Sunken City, pitting them against dangerous oceans and pirates intent on claiming Ennara’s magic as their own. With only her friends at her side, including the intelligent, aquatic cat Smoos, Ennara must defeat monsters guarding the sword and servants of the Fallen Druid. When her world is covered in darkness, will she know how to dispel the curse?
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/324640
About the Author:
Like many writers, I have a full life in which I juggle many duties and joys. I love to cook, garden, and play with my twins. As a mother to toddlers, I write whenever I am not helping them navigate their day--which typically means in the early mornings and early afternoons when they sleep, and sometimes when Grandma comes to visit.
I was twenty-two when writing became a passion of mine. I've been doing it in one form or another ever since. But it took me a very long time to follow my heart's desire to tell stories.
For years, I simply journaled. I delved into writing articles for newsletters and grant proposals. I settled into technical writing, often finding myself a one-person writing, editing, design, app development, and publication team. I learned the basics of journalism, and finally, when on maternity leave with my twins, I turned to writing fiction.
I am grateful for every reader I have. Writing can be a solitary pursuit, but it can also be a dialog, a meeting of the minds. I invite you to connect with me:
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/AngelaMyron
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https://www.facebook.com/myron.angela?fref=ts
Website:
http://www.angelamyron.com/
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a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Angela Myron was born in Vancouver, Canada in 1973. She grew up in the piney forests of southern
British Columbia, studying tiny blue bells, dodging hidden cacti, and creating fantasy worlds in her back
yard. She loved to imagine lands of fairies and goblins, then invite friends over to introduce them.
