Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for A Book of Spirits and Thieves! Today I have a fantastic guest post by the author to share with you!!
A Book of Spirits and Thieves (Spirits & Thieves #1)
Author: Morgan Rhodes
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: June 23, 2015
Publisher: Razorbill
Description:
Modern-day sisters discover deadly ancient magic in book 1 of this Falling Kingdoms spin-off series!
Worlds collide in this suspenseful, page-turning Falling Kingdoms spin-off series, which explores a whole new side of Mytica—and an even darker version of its magic.
Crystal Hatcher, Modern-day Toronto: It’s a normal afternoon in her mother’s antique bookshop when Crys witnesses the unthinkable: her little sister Becca collapses into a coma after becoming mesmerized by a mysterious book written in an unrecognizable language.
Maddox Corso, Ancient Mytica: Maddox Corso doesn’t think much of it when he spots an unfamiliar girl in his small village. Until, that is, he realizes that she is a spirit, and he is the only one who can see or hear her. Her name is Becca Hatcher, and she needs Maddox to help get her home.
Farrell Grayson, Modern-day Toronto: Rich and aimless Farrell Grayson is thrilled when the mysterious leader of the ultra-secret Hawkspear Society invites him into the fold. But when he learns exactly what he has to do to prove himself, Farrell starts to question everything he thought he knew about family, loyalty, and himself….
Fate has brought these young people together, but ancient magic threatens to rip them apart.
Worlds collide in this suspenseful, page-turning Falling Kingdoms spin-off series, which explores a whole new side of Mytica—and an even darker version of its magic.
Crystal Hatcher, Modern-day Toronto: It’s a normal afternoon in her mother’s antique bookshop when Crys witnesses the unthinkable: her little sister Becca collapses into a coma after becoming mesmerized by a mysterious book written in an unrecognizable language.
Maddox Corso, Ancient Mytica: Maddox Corso doesn’t think much of it when he spots an unfamiliar girl in his small village. Until, that is, he realizes that she is a spirit, and he is the only one who can see or hear her. Her name is Becca Hatcher, and she needs Maddox to help get her home.
Farrell Grayson, Modern-day Toronto: Rich and aimless Farrell Grayson is thrilled when the mysterious leader of the ultra-secret Hawkspear Society invites him into the fold. But when he learns exactly what he has to do to prove himself, Farrell starts to question everything he thought he knew about family, loyalty, and himself….
Fate has brought these young people together, but ancient magic threatens to rip them apart.
Where do your ideas/inspirations for your books come from?
One of the most common questions a writer gets is: Where do we get our ideas?
In a single word, my answer is…..everywhere.
Seriously. The universe is constantly sending me awesome ideas for characters and books and scenes. Whether it’s a conversation I overhear in a mall food court, a line in a TV show, an image in a magazine, an article in the newspaper or read online…something small will spark in my mind. Sometimes these are tiny sparks, easy to ignore, but other times they are large sparks, like fireworks. And BAM. The idea arrives right on schedule.
Some authors claim their ideas arrive in dreams. I have had some pretty epic dreams and wake up certain that idea is perfect for a book. I scribble down my half-sleepy thoughts in the darkness, then when I fully wake up I read them over and…yeah, not so much. Too bad!
I had the idea for my first published book (that I wrote under my other pen name) occur to me when Buffy the Vampire Slayer was ending and Bridget Jones was beginning. Vampire Chick Lit! (FYI I wasn’t the only one to think of this!). Another idea that led to a full-length book was triggered by a short observation in a talk show that “love feels just like magic.”
The idea for A BOOK OF SPIRITS AND THIEVES, the first book in my companion/prequel series to Falling Kingdoms, came at me from a hundred different directions. I loved the movie Frozen, especially since it featured two very different sisters and their complicated relationship. In ABOSAT, Crys and Becca Hatcher are sisters…very different in their views on the world, but when push comes to shove, they are fiercely loyal to each other. Another big spark for the book was reading about the Voynich Manuscript online. It’s a medieval-era one-of-a-kind book that no one has been able to decipher to this day, making it a true mystery. I basically thought… what if the unknown language was from a different world? And…what if that world is Mytica?
Throw in my love of stories about secret societies, treasure, ghosts, and “magical gateways to other worlds,” and you’ve got yourself a recipe for a book I definitely wanted to write.
An old school way of collecting ideas is to go through magazines and clip whatever appeals to you, no matter what it is. So many images and words can poke at the muse and get her working. I love magazines, but I also love Pinterest. I have “inspiration boards” for my books, as well as another board of random images that feel like they’re in need of a story…someday!
They say (although I don’t know who “they” is) that a picture is worth a thousand words and that everyone has a story within them. Finding that first spark can lead to the fireworks. And those fireworks can lead to a finished book!
Happy Reading!
Morgan Rhodes
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