The big day has finally arrived, Enchanted Waters is out now, winging its way to kindles all over the world. Beautifully illustrated paperbacks are dropping onto doormats from Canada to Estonia, and everywhere in between and beyond.
This release has surpassed by far any of our wildest dreams, and we have you to thank for that. To everyone who preordered the ebook or bought the paperback, who liked and shared our social media posts, who included EW in their newsletters and reviewed it on your blogs, who told friends and family, or even just bought it to help support Oceana and the charitable initiative.
Thank you, from the bottoms of our hearts and the depths of our souls. You’ve made this release a huge success, and helped us raise hundreds of pounds (or dollars, euros, whatever!) for ocean conservation.
I’ve had the most incredible experience working alongside these amazing writers and humans for the past year, it’s made my debut year as an indie author everything I hoped it would be and so much more. So my thanks also go to Alice Ivinya, Astrid V.J., Jennifer Kropf, N.D.T. Casale, Elena Shelest, Sky Sommers and Ben Lang. Thank you for being the best coauthors a girl could ask for.
If you haven’t decided whether Enchanted Waters is your cup of tea yet, here’s the blurb and the stories included:
What really lies beneath the waves?
Dive into our magical collection of short stories written by award-winning and up-and-coming authors and follow the ocean’s call. Meet murderous kelpies, hear the mermaid’s song, find a kidnapped prince, and explore the beautiful underwater kingdoms. Befriend selkie royalty, break fearsome curses, and swoon as you fall in love. This book is fully illustrated with stunning paintings by Helena Satterthwaite and Elena Shelest.
All profits go to Oceana to support their mission to protect the world’s oceans and promote sustainable fishing.
Stories include: Daughter of the Selkie King – Lyndsey Hall (that’s me!) Merrily Merrily – Jennifer Kropf The Kelpie of Loch Linnhe – Alice Ivinya The Bridge – Ben Lang Kiss the Frog – Sky Sommers Sea Ghost of the Isle – N.D.T. Casale The Naiad’s Curse – Astrid V.J. The Arctic Mermaid – N.D.T. Casale Heartless Melody – Alice Ivinya The Wishing Well – Elena Shelest
Hi folks! I hope you’re having a fantastic July so far, the weather has been a bit hit and miss here in the UK, but when isn’t it?
Today I want to introduce you to another fabulous fantasy author and help you build that vertiginous TBR just a little higher. Step inside and say hi to Carol Beth Anderson, author of The Magic Eaters trilogy, and more.
Hello! Thank you for chatting with me today, why don’t you tell us a little about yourself.
I was born and raised in the Arizona desert, where I played make-believe games with my twin sister and older brother, transforming blankets into princess capes and my mother’s dresses into fine gowns. Almost as soon as I learned to write words, I began turning them into stories.
As a young adult, I moved to Texas and have lived here ever since. In addition to writing, I enjoy baking sourdough bread, hanging out with my teenage kids, husband, and miniature schnauzer, and hosting high-school exchange students.
Amazing, I was an exchange student back in my teens! We exchanged with France and Spain, and it was so much fun. When did you start writing and who inspired you?
I’ve always written, but I was inspired to start writing a novel when I happened to meet a local author doing a signing at a bookstore. I read her novella that day and thought, “I could do that!” I started brainstorming for my first novel that night and started writing it a few days later.
I love that, I would absolutely love to do a signing in my local bookstore! And the idea of inspiring someone else to follow their dream is wonderful. I hope you wrote to that local author and told her she inspired you! What’s your favourite genre to read?
I love fantasy with romance in it (whether as a primary plot or subplot). I love Brent Weeks, Michael J. Sullivan, and Leigh Bardugo.
Romantic fantasy is my number one genre to read and write too, and Leigh Bardugo is one of my favourite authors! Six of Crows was just brilliant. Can you tell us about your published books and where we can get our hands on them?
The Frost Eater is the first book in The Magic Eaters Trilogy, which is upper-YA fantasy with dragons and romance on the side. The trilogy is complete, and I’ll admit … I adore this story. I’ve been thrilled to find that readers do too!
I have to admit, I’ve seen those covers around and been coveting them for quite a while! I’m definitely going to have to get the audio book of The FrostEater! I’m in the process of having an audio book made of my debut novel and it’s such an exciting process! Where do you find inspiration for your stories?
A lot of it just comes from letting my mind wander over the course of time. I write down ideas, and some of them stick! However, I also find inspiration from covers. For The Magic Eaters Trilogy, I just had some rough ideas. I found the covers as premades—the designer had already made them and had them for sale. I bought them, had her change the titles to the ones that would fit my series, and used the covers to help guide the series. I bought a premade for my next book (Faerie Fallen) too. I didn’t have any ideas for my next series that were “sticking” until I got the cover and suddenly had tons of ideas, based on the image.
I’m addicted to premade covers, The Fair Queen was a premade too and as soon as I saw it I knew it was the one. But I love the idea of taking inspiration from the cover itself! It sounds like you’re very visual, I bet you love Pinterest! Do you consider yourself a plotter, pantser or plantser?
Plantser! I plan out major plot points in advance, but some of them do change as I go. I only do a chapter-by-chapter outline for one-quarter of the book at a time. (When I finish the first quarter, I do the detailed outline for the second quarter, and so on. And it still ends up changing along the way.)
I think most of us are plantsers at heart, my writing process is pretty similar. So, what are you working on right now?
Faerie Fallen, a romantic fantasy novel. It’s the first book in my Feathered Fae series, and I’m loving this world and characters and the slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romance!
You had me at enemies-to-lovers romance! Your new series sounds like a combination of all my favourite things. What one piece of advice would you give aspiring authors?
Publishing is a marathon, not a sprint.
So true. Thank you so much for chatting with me today! It’s been lovely to get to know you and your writing methods better. Before you go, where can we find out more about you and your books?
GUYS. I had the privilege of reading an ARC of Girls of Might and Magic, a collection of diverse YA fantasy short stories with diverse characters by a group of incredible authors, and I can’t wait to tell you all about it.
This anthology is a collaboration between members of the Diverse Books with Magic Facebook group, created to highlight diverse and own voices authors, as well as featuring a wide range of diverse characters. The stories include characters from a range of cultures and ethnicities, as well as differently-abled characters. But these difference aren’t the central plot point, these girls are totally badass heroines caught up in magical and fantastical tales that will grab your attention and keep you guessing until the very last page.
Stories in this collection
Heartburn by E. M. Lacey
Wind and Silk by Alice Ivinya
Grace and Ghosts by K. R. S. McEntire
Faith by Sudha Kuruganti
The Outside by C. C. Solomon
Daughter of Soil and Gold by Meghan Rhine
Check Yourself by Kat Zaccard
A Meeting in the Woods by Nicole Givens Kurtz
Pretty Young Things by LaLa Leo
Funnel Cake by Amanda Ross
Outcast by D. L. Howard
Serenity Dawn by C. I. Raiyne
The Cursed Gift by Courtney Dean
Chasing Waves by Kendra Merritt
Sight by Tamika Brown
Memories of Magic by Ashley Ford
I loved this collection of diverse fantasy stories, I’d been admiring the cover for weeks so when the opportunity to read an advance copy came I practically snatched the authors’ hands off!
I really liked the little added touch of the epigraphs to introduce each story, it felt like a tiny insight into the author and the story. Particular favourites were Wind and Silk by Alice Ivinya, a gorgeous tale of strength, love and dragons set in an Imperial China-inspired world. And Grace and Ghosts by K.R.S. McEntire, I loved the twists and turns in this one, especially that final reveal! Full. Body. Chills.
Most of these authors were new to me, but I’ll definitely be reading more from all of them as I enjoyed every story and can’t wait to see what they write next!
This anthology is perfect for fantasy loving teens and adults alike. I definitely recommend it if you love quick, fun reads with big twists.
Lyndsey Hall | Author 