The Book Cellar

I am very excited to have Maureen Lipinski here for another Fantasy Five Friday interview

Maureen Lipinski is the author of Shadow’s Edge, which is her debut young adult novel, as well as A Bump in the Road and Not Ready for Mom Jeans. She graduated from Miami University and lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband and two kids. You can visit her on the web at her website.

Here’s a bit about Shadow’s Edge:

My magical life is dead to me now . . . This is my last chance at freedom. Once, Leah Spencer didn’t mind being a natural-born Shaman to the Creatuir, a human helper to faeries, shapeshifters, and other magical beings. But that was before she listened to her friend Fiona and broke Rule #1, traveling unprepared to the Other Realm where she quickly lost a whole year of time. She missed out on everything–holidays, school, her sixteenth birthday, the boyfriend who ditched her. After that, Leah swore to leave all things magical behind and lead the life of a normal high school girl.

Now Fiona is missing, and something is killing off the Creatuir, both Light and Dark. As the Creatuir prepare to go to war, Leah is torn between her safe new life and solving the Other Realm murder spree. With the help of her three sisters (each with her own magical gift), and three gorgeous guys–who may or may not be part of the evil magic–Leah must vanquish an ancient dark force. Unless an unimaginable secret about her family destroys her first.

Could you give us the one sentence pitch of  your book?

SHADOW’S EDGE is about sixteen year old Leah Spencer, a natural born Shaman to the Other Realm, who has  to choose between attending regular high school and “getting all CSI” on a mystical murder spree.

Since you have a fantasy novel coming out, the next question I obviously have to ask is: If you were a fantastical creature, which would you be?

Ooh, fun question! I would love to be a creature with the ability to stop time. I always seem to have a mile-long To Do list and too few hours in the day to accomplish everything. I would love to be able to stop time and catch up on all my projects…or maybe I would just take a nap!

Do you have a favorite fantasy read?

My favorite fantasy book will always be Madeleine L’Engle’s A WRINKLE IN TIME. I still remember being a kid and tearing through those pages while sitting on my pink Laura Ashley bedspread.

Generally speaking, which comes first: the world, the characters, or the plot?

Usually, the characters come first. Often times, I have an idea of where I want the book to go, I’m just not sure how the characters are going to get there. Of course, there are also many times when the characters have other ideas in mind and I have to go with it!

They are always coming out with new editions of board games. If your book could be a special edition of any board game, which would you choose?

The Game of Life! I LOVED that board game growing up. Still do, actually. I remember my little brother would always lose the pink and blue pegs representing kids and husbands so we’d have to use push pins. It wasn’t nearly as fun.

Thanks so much Maureen for stopping by!

Buy Shadow’s Edge: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository 

I am super excited to have Courtney Allison Moulton here at The Book Cellar today, for another Fantasy Five Friday.

Courtney Allison Moulton is the author of Angelfire, Wings of the Wicked, and the forthcoming Book 3 in the Angelfire series. She lives in Michigan with her horse, Pia.You can find her on the web at her website, twitter, and blog.

Could you give us the one sentence pitch of your book?

A teenage girl with extraordinary powers battles the armies of Hell with
the help of her reaper Guardian.

Since you have a fantasy novel coming out, the next question I obviously have to ask is: If you were a fantastical creature, which would you be?

I’d love to have superhuman abilities like in the X-Men. It would be fun
to be a secret government weapon or something. For like a weekend.

Do you have a favorite fantasy read?

Fire by Kristin Cashore

Generally speaking, which comes first: the world, the characters, or the
plot?

This varies. I have about a hundred or so projects to finish on my
computer, and sometimes the world comes first and sometimes the character.
I don’t really know why one or the other, but I just go with the flow.

They are always coming out with new editions of board games. If your book
could be a special edition of any board game, which would you choose?

Hungry Hungry Hippos with human faces on the little balls and you, as
Ellie, have to chop their heads off before they eat the little people.
It’s like Anti-Hungry Hungry Hippos. I want to play this now.

Courtney’s next book, Wings of the Wicked, is coming out on January 31st.

Life as the Preliator is harder than Ellie ever imagined.
Balancing real life with the responsibility of being Heaven’s warrior is a challenge for Ellie. Her relationship with Will has become all business, though they both long for each other. And now that the secret of who she really is has come out, so have Hell’s strongest reapers. Grown bold and more vicious, the demonic threaten her in the light of day and stalk her in the night.

She’s been warned.
Cadan, a demonic reaper, comes to her with information about Bastian’s new plan to destroy Ellie’s soul and use an ancient relic to wake all the souls of the damned and unleash them upon humanity. As she fights to stay ahead of Bastian’s schemes , the revelations about those closest to her awaken a dark power within Ellie that threatens to destroy everything—including herself.

She’ll be betrayed.
Treachery comes even from those whom she loves, and Ellie is broken by the deaths of those who stood beside her in this Heavenly war. Still, she must find a way to save the world, herself, and her love for Will. If she fails, there will be hell to pay.

I am super excited to have one of my all time favorite authors, Heidi R Kling, by the blog today for another Fantasy Five Friday!

Heidi R Kling is the author of Sea as well as the series, The Spellspinners of Melas County. Witch’s Brew, the first book, came out last week! She also has short stories in three anthologies, Truth & Dare, The Visitors Guide to Mystic Falls, and The First Time. You can find her on the web at her website, Goodreads, and Twitter.

Here’s a bit about Witch’s Brew:

Spellspinners is an “Active Fiction” title, a new type of e-book from Coliloquy. In this Active Fiction series, your input influences future books from this author. Specifically, in Spellspinners, your input influences what happens to star-crossed lovers Logan & Lily. Spellspinners is a young adult series about a witch, a warlock & their forbidden love. Once soulmates, the witch & warlock covens have been estranged for a century. Twice a year, their teens meet in the Solstice Stones, a magical battleground, to draw energy from each other. Logan & Lily have trained their whole lives for the Stones. In Witch’s Brew, Lily is torn between her feelings for Logan & her loyalty to her coven. The lovers race against time, their distrust for each other & their powerful elders to unravel the mystery of the past before their future is destroyed. While Lily & Logan’s fate may be decided, the author explores several paths to get there. The author sees the aggregate statistics on what option gets picked the most, so the more you read, the more you influence what she writes!

Could you give us the one sentence pitch of your book?

A witch, a warlock, and their fight to save their magic–and their forbidden love.

Since you have a fantasy novel, the next question I obviously have to ask is: If you were a fantastical creature, which would you be?

While I would LOVE to be a witch like Lily, I’m going to go with my first reaction: a unicorn. (Sorry Team Zombie.)

Do you have a favorite fantasy read?

Most recently I’ve liked A Discovery of Witches–can’t wait for the sequel!

Generally speaking, which comes first: the world, the characters, or the plot?

This go round it was the world. I could see it with such shimmering clarity. I knew from the get-go I wanted to combine nature’s innate magical elements with supernatural charms and enchantment. Setting the Spellspinners series in a modern beach town make perfect sense to me. There’s something so magical about the ocean and the coastal redwoods near where I live.

And then, once the town and the plot were in place, the characters popped into the places they intrinsically belonged.

They are always coming out with new editions of board games. If your book could be a special edition of any board game, which would you choose?

Oooh AWESOME question. How about a Spellspinner edition of MONOPOLY. Where players can gain a power, lose a power? Confront Jacob and Lose A Life?

Or Chess. A Logan chess piece. Now that’d be cool.

Thanks so much for stopping by Heidi! And I would LOVE that edition of Monopoly or a Logan chess piece! Make sure to check out my review of Witch’s Brew, which I absolutely adored!

Buy Witch’s Brew