Fallenwood Book Tour
Reader Girls hosts the Fallenwood Book Tour today. Author Leslie D. Soule shares a guest post with us as well as an excerpt. Keep reading to find out about the giveaway too!
Book blurb: Fallenwood—a land where magic is the life force, dragons are sages, and wizards good and evil battle for supremacy. When 23-year-old Ash is thrust into the middle of Fallenwood’s power struggles, she is also forced to face her own inner battles. Life on Earth was hard enough on Ash, who is locked in grief for her stepfather.
Book blurb: Fallenwood—a land where magic is the life force, dragons are sages, and wizards good and evil battle for supremacy. When 23-year-old Ash is thrust into the middle of Fallenwood’s power struggles, she is also forced to face her own inner battles. Life on Earth was hard enough on Ash, who is locked in grief for her stepfather.
Now, the fate of Fallenwood rests on her shoulders. She must destroy the Great Crystal—the catalyst for all the land’s magic. As the kingdoms prepare for war, Ash must look inside to find the power to save the world, and herself.
Guest Post by Leslie D. Soule: Creating A Unique Fantasy World
How do you make your fantasy world stand out among others?
Well, I suppose that’s always the big challenge with writing fantasy, really – to do something that hasn’t been done before or isn’t just a rip off of a fantasy world that’s already been done. This idea is such a challenge that on the “Fantasy Novelist’s Exam” on rinkworks.com/fnovel, listing all the things you shouldn’t do as a fantasy writer, the creator asks, “Is your book basically a rip-off of The Lord of the Rings?” as question 74, and then follows it up with number 75 – “Read that question again and answer truthfully.”
One of the things you have to figure out as an author is how much you want your fantasy world to be like the real world. With Tolkien, he chose to create a whole bunch of flora for his fantasy world of Middle Earth, from Mallorn trees to Kingsfoil, and yet he seems to also have understood that you need some mundane items thrown into the mix as well – like when he mentions carrots or stew. Creating a unique fantasy world relies on your ability to blend the mundane and the surreal in a way that readers can connect to, and finding that balance between bland and overly strange.
I think it might have been C.S. Lewis that I was reading, who explains that fantasy is a combination of elements that do not normally go together, and then you blend them. He explained that gold and trees are both “ordinary” things, but fantasy happens when you combine them and get a gold tree.
Then, of course, you have to figure out how magic works in the fantasy world you’ve created. This is like the keystone that holds things together. Orson Scott Card writes about how there has to be a “price” for magic, every single time it’s used in a fantasy novel, otherwise your characters become too powerful.
That being said, I believe that your fantasy world becomes your own when you combine elements in a unique way or when you’re able to explain the workings of your fantasy world so well that the story begins to write itself and the characters take over. It is difficult, but well worth it when you can look back and say, “No one else could have created that.”
Best of luck to you aspiring writers out there!!!
An excerpt from Fallenwood:
The dragon’s eyes glowed, for a flickering moment, with white light.
“Ash,” the dragon continued, “Welcome to Terra Illumina…or as it is more commonly known, Fallenwood.” Then a fierce roaring laugh erupted from the stone, as though the dragon thought the new name a joke. “A dark, difficult, dangerous path lies before you, Ash Kensington.”
Ash’s heart grew heavy. In truth, she knew that she was destined to some terrible, dark fate. For so long, her life was filled with sadness and doubt, and one horrible thing after another. What else can I hope for?
“But Ash, you must not lose hope. Our world needs you..."
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Giveaway: Leslie will be giving away a $25 Barnes and Noble GC to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour as well as to the host with the most comments (excluding Leslie's and their own). Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here.
We thank Leslie D. Soule and Goddess Fish Promotions. Our review will be up soon.
Thanks for hosting Leslie today
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting me today, Reader Girls!
ReplyDeleteI'll be away at work for most of the day, but I'll be on here later tonight, checking and replying to comments and such. :)
-Leslie Soule
www.lesliesoule.com
Hi Leslie,
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned this in an earlier blog, but I don't recall reading it anywhere...if your book were to be made into a film, who do you see playing the lead characters?
Good luck with the book,it sounds interesting.
ReplyDeleteThis is your first fantasy novel. I think fantasy is especially tough to write. What made you go in that direction?
ReplyDeletecatherinelee100[at]gmail[dot]com
Hey there! Thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteWell, here's the original movie-themed post from the Daily Dose of Decadence Blog:
http://decadentpublishing.blogspot.com/2011/03/if-fallenwood-were-made-into-movie.html
And here's my cast:
Ash - Ashley Greene (Alice in the Twilight movies)
Prince Edward - Hayden Christensen
Terces - Danforth Comins, an actor with the Ashland Shakespeare Festival.
Will Everett - Gem Jean Marc Danois
Greymalkin - Could be done by a real cat or a Muppet-type character.
Thanks for your question, Catherine Lee. What made me want to write fantasy was my familiarity with the genre and I've always been fascinated by the creatures and elements of fantasy - dragons, unicorns, castles, magic, etc. Fantasy definitely has its difficulties, but it's also a genre that's open to a lot of experimentation for a writer, so that makes it enjoyable.
Feel free to join me on tomorrow's stop on the blog tour, over at Traditional Romance for Modern Women:
http://sheamcmaster.blogspot.com/
-Leslie Soule
www.lesliesoule.com