I’m so excited to announce that the Winter Woods Book Club will be hosting a book tour for TSK during release week, and YOU can get involved!
If you’re willing to share posts on your blog or social media between 24 and 31 January, then click below to sign up and you’ll be sent graphics and a prewritten caption (or you can create your own!) in time to spread the love for The Fair Chronicles before The Solitary King‘s release.
Hello lovely folks, I’ve got a real treat for you today! I had the immense privilege of interviewing the incredible Shana Vernon, author of The Hybrid Chronicles.
I recently read an early copy of Shana’s new release Of Shadow and Ember, and it’s my favourite book of the year so far (a review is coming soon). So let’s see what Shana had to say when we chatted!
Hi Shana, it’s so lovely to have you with us! Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I am originally from Baltimore Maryland, USA, but I moved to Israel at nineteen years old. I love to travel around the world, cook and eat delicious food, create and write new worlds, read, drink wine, and play with my twenty-one-month-old triplets and our frenchie, Lola.
We could be best friends, because those are all my favourite things! Say hi to Lola for me!! So, when did you start writing?
I’ve been writing since I was about twelve, but I only took it more seriously during my pregnancy when I was stuck on bedrest. Two years later, I have three books and one novella published, with another on the way!
Wow, that’s an incredible achievement in just two years. And especially when I know that your pregnancy was with triplets who are now eighteen months old! I’ve got one 3.5 years old, so I can only imagine the fun and chaos of having three baby boys to deal with. What’s your favourite genre to read and write?
Fantasy.
Me too! And your favourite tropes?
Found family
Enemies to lovers
Slow burn romance
Kick-Ass heroines
Those are definitely some of my faves too, especially enemies to lovers. But I have to admit, I’m a sucker for royalty and the chosen one trope. Tell us about your upcoming release.
My newest release, Of Shadow and Ember, is now available for pre-order and comes out 15 September, and everyone who orders will get two freebies!!
Awesome, I can’t wait to see what the preorder goodies are! I loved the book and found the world building incredible. Where do you find inspiration for your characters or settings?
Each kingdom in Elaerys has a unique magic system and culture that were inspired by different lore and legends. Kalamia was inspired a bit by my own ancestry.
When I originally began outlining and writing OSAE, there was only one main character. After the story started, I really fell in love with the other two sisters and made them both MCs as well.
I really enjoyed seeing inside all three sisters’ heads, I think it made the story more three-dimensional and layered. You’ve made me want to write a multi-POV story next! Do you consider yourself a plotter, pantser or plantser?
Hard core plotter. I outline the entire book, including the characters, before I even start writing.
I’m a big plotter too, although I do leave room to find my way, but I need a chapter by chapter breakdown to keep me on the right track. What are you working on right now?
I just got started working on two different WIPs. One is the second book in the “Heirs of Elaerys’ series, and the first in a new urban fantasy series.
I’m so excited for the second Heirs of Elaerys book! What one piece of advice would you give aspiring authors?
Don’t give up. Just keep writing – sung in the ‘Just keep swimming’ tune.
Perfect, thank you so much for chatting with me today! It’s been an honour. Before you go, how can we find out more about you and your books?
Shana will also be featured in the upcoming anthology, Season of the Witch!
I cannot recommend Of Shadow and Ember highly enough, and I’ll be impatiently waiting for book two, Of Earth and Bone, until March 2022 when it comes out. I’m definitely adding the Hybrid Chronicles to my TBR! How about you? Which of Shana’s books are you reading first?
When Aria returns to the Fair Realm to attend a ball at the Salamander castle, it isn’t long before things take a turn for the deadly.
With her father’s home in ashes and her newfound family reduced to dust, Aria finds herself King Auberon’s captive once more. Deep within the mountains that border the Celeste Kingdom, Aria is powerless to fight back, her newly-discovered abilities suppressed by the weight of the rock that surrounds her. But when a Celeste guard whispers about rebellion and promises to help her escape, Aria is desperate to trust him.
Crown Prince Xander returns home to the Gnome castle, laden with grief for his brother and father, and dreading the day he will be crowned king. Preparations are underway for his marriage and coronation, but thoughts of the girl he betrayed trouble him day and night. Until the morning of his wedding, when a note arrives that Aria has been taken by Auberon once more, and Xander is forced to choose between his life of duty and obedience, and what he believes is right.
Return to the Fair Realm and lose yourself in book two of The Fair Chronicles. Perfect for fans of Holly Black’s Folk of the Air series.
The Solitary King follows both Aria and Xander as they try to come to terms with the events of The Fair Queen, whilst also facing new threats and growing tension between the Five Kingdoms. Can Aria ever forgive Xander for his betrayal, and will he be able to protect her from the forces that wish to prevent the prophecy of the legendary Fair Queen coming true?
Lyndsey Hall | Author 