I haven't really gone and joined one of these outside an established group... but I've just been invited to a couple different tags, so you're getting some "insider information" on me!
The blogger who invited me was Raina Nightingale over on Enthralled By Love, and the tag itself originates as a romance reader tag, from Bree Hill on Falling For Romance.
*Quick note about the thumbnail image: I made it myself, with an AI-generated image. Feel free to use it if you are participating in this hop!*
1-What is your Fantasy Origin? (The First Fantasy you Read)
I grew up homeschooled, so aside from the usual (Mossflower by Brian Jacques, and the Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis; I actually didn't get into Lord of the Rings until later) there are two titles in particular that I know influenced my early stories. One was Brill of Exitorn by Peggy Downing, about a boy who gets conscripted to be the companion to a spoiled, selfish son of the wicked emperor who has been oppressing the land. The boy uses cleverness, honesty, and compassion to win over the "emprince", as his title went, and although he and another girl were wrongfully convicted and imprisoned when they tried to liberate others who had been wrongfully imprisoned, they manage to survive and set off to have more adventures--unfortunately, I never knew that there was more to the story, but it definitely ignited my imagination to read it several times!
The other was The Ordinary Princess by M. M. Kaye, and trust me, I had plenty of thoughts about what I would do if I encountered a King that was secretly masquerading as a footman in his own castle! I certainly identified with the titular Princess, her being so "ordinary" and "mousy", while her gorgeous sisters didn't want anything to do with her... Feeling quite plain, myself, I felt inspired to use this to my own advantage, improving my mind and my character while not worrying overmuch about my looks!
The other was The Ordinary Princess by M. M. Kaye, and trust me, I had plenty of thoughts about what I would do if I encountered a King that was secretly masquerading as a footman in his own castle! I certainly identified with the titular Princess, her being so "ordinary" and "mousy", while her gorgeous sisters didn't want anything to do with her... Feeling quite plain, myself, I felt inspired to use this to my own advantage, improving my mind and my character while not worrying overmuch about my looks!
2-If you could be the hero/heroine in a fantasy novel, who would be the author and what’s the trope you’d insist be in the story?
Me? Well... That's a tough hypothetical! There are so many authors whose style I very much enjoy... but I might not survive as a character in their books! But as far as "writes beautiful prose and excellent at world-building", I'd probably go with Anne Elisabeth Stengl, Naomi Novik, or Amy Hopkins. In the scope of their books, I'd probably want the role of a wise counselor or mentor-figure, like a "fairy godmother" type. I don't always need to be the center of attention all the time, but I like having the position of influence, to be the "hub of knowledge and information", as it were. One of my favorite tropes and the one I hope is in the book I am a part of is that "Truth Wins." Like, for the discovery of truth to be the key to the undoing of the antagonist. Also, I love the "found family" trope, as well as the "strong silent softie archetype" trope, so I'd want those to be present as well!
3-What is a fantasy series you’ve read this year, that you want more people to read?
To be honest, 2022 hasn't been my best year for reading. I've been doing a lot of discovering of new crime thriller authors, some stand-alones... but for the sake of having a response, I will say that I've at least read A Promise Due, the next (fourth) book in the Talented series by Amy Hopkins. It's an urban fantasy series that I've described as "If Hermione Granger decided to use her talents in Herbology to open a tea shop just outside London." The main character, Emma, is a "Half-Talent", where her full-magic father married a "normal" woman. As such, she's too "normal" for the magic community, and too "magic" for the normal community, she's kind of in a social limbo that tends to be very uncomfortable... particularly in the circumstance when the series starts, in which someone capable of dream-walking has been killing people off. At first she's a suspect, because her enchanted teas are a well-known staple--but as the mystery deepens, Emma figures out that the killer is going after Half-Talents like herself... and she's been getting disturbing imagery in her dreams that could indicate she might be the next target. Of course, that's just how it starts, and the mysteries just get deeper and bigger and more twisty from there. The characters and world-building are wonderful. Emma lives with her faithful dog Lenny and the "family boggart", sort of like a monstrous cryptid butler, and she meets two Talent Lords, brothers who kind of take her under their wing as an honorary sibling when she navigates the Talent high society, a Fae stylist named Bee who is absolutely delightful, a hound shifter who works on the police force... and so much more! If I were to recommend any series I read this year, that would definitely be the one!
4-What is your favorite fantasy subgenre?
I have lots of favorites! Fantasy is definitely the biggest genre I read. Fairy tales, Portal fantasy, urban fantasy, sword and sorcery and noblebright fantasy are among my favorites. I love a good shifter fantasy as well!
5-What subgenre have you not read much from?
Dark fantasy and especially grimdark fantasy are subgenres I have only a "dabbler's" interest in. I tend to be pretty squeamish, so if the violence is too intense and there isn't a secondary feature like amazing world-building or thought-provoking prose to kind of take my mind off the gore, then I don't enjoy it for its own sake. And I will say, that while I like romantic stories like fairy tales and whatnot, "fantasy romance" is not what I would go for, in its own right. I like romance as a subplot, but if it's the only thing the novel has going on, frankly that bores me!
6-Who is one of your auto-buy fantasy authors?
One author whose books I'm always looking for, and definitely know that I want to read as soon as I see her name on it is Marissa Meyer. Her series The Lunar Chronicles was one of the first series I ever actually bought to own. I have at least one of her stand-alones, too--but I'm ashamed to admit I haven't gotten into her new series yet! (But that is to come, for sure!) In the indie realm, the author I've immediately bought when I had the money to spare and she's come out with a new book is Kelly Blanchard. I have signed copies of the entire Chronicles of Lorrek, which I promised myself I needed to read before I got her spin-off series, the Hand of Sorrow. Her books are so good, though!
7-How do you typically find fantasy recommendations? (Goodreads, YouTube, Podcasts, Instagram, etc.)
Goodreads is usually how I find out about a lot of books, since I can see what my friends are reading and how they've enjoyed books--even titles I find randomly at the library that I find exciting, I typically look them up on Goodreads just to see what the reviews are like, and what people enjoy or object to in a given title, and what my friends have said about it. My library also has a "staff picks" shelf, where they feature books in a few different genres that staff members recommend--a few times I've found books that I ended up really liking on that shelf as well!
8-What is an upcoming fantasy release you’re excited for?
Well, if you'd asked me that a few months ago, I would have said The First Binding by R. R. Virdi--he's an author I've reviewed many times on this blog, ever since I read and loved his debut self-published novel. This year, he got picked up and published by Tor Books, a massive publisher, and since its release in August, the book is already making waves! By now, though, I'd have to say: Over The Moon by S. E. Anderson! She's an author I've been in a few groups with (and on a podcast panel, too!) and although I haven't read a lot of her works, I absolutely love her creativity and the ideas she comes up with. For example, this upcoming release of hers is a sort of "cyberpunk remix" of the Wizard of Oz, replete with secret royal twins, aliens and AI versions of the different character archetypes from the source material, and I'm betting there will be tons of entertaining references throughout! I still remember catching the social media update when she was talking about the concept in the "infant" stages of the idea, back when it was under a different title... and for sure I will be hyping it upon release!
9-What is one misconception about fantasy you would like to lay to rest?
That it's somehow "just for girls." Or that it's all one thing (like fairies and unicorns and dragons and tall and graceful Elves...); or even further, that it's "just escapist stories that have no bearing on reality, but are really a distraction from actual real-world problem solving."
On the contrary, I believe that fantasy is necessary because it allows one to see real-world problems out of their real-world context, so maybe aspects of that problem are more readily apparent. Reading fantasy could allow you to read a situation or an issue you may relate to, but in this new context it gives you the ability to see it from another perspective.
Fantasy isn't all castles and princesses and unicorns; it's not all girly romance and damsels in distress. Fantasy can be worthwhile for all genders and ages, not just to escape reality and chase after flights of fancy, but to exercise one's mind and learn to view situations from new and inventive ways of thinking. I've met people who only read nonfiction because they don't see "the point" of fiction... I would argue that their objection is precisely why fiction and especially fantasy is necessary, because the real world is too vast for just one way of linear thinking; we need to learn to see beyond the surface, beyond our empirical (or senses-based) interactions. Fantasy gives shape to the abstract, and allows us to grasp the invisible.
On the contrary, I believe that fantasy is necessary because it allows one to see real-world problems out of their real-world context, so maybe aspects of that problem are more readily apparent. Reading fantasy could allow you to read a situation or an issue you may relate to, but in this new context it gives you the ability to see it from another perspective.
Fantasy isn't all castles and princesses and unicorns; it's not all girly romance and damsels in distress. Fantasy can be worthwhile for all genders and ages, not just to escape reality and chase after flights of fancy, but to exercise one's mind and learn to view situations from new and inventive ways of thinking. I've met people who only read nonfiction because they don't see "the point" of fiction... I would argue that their objection is precisely why fiction and especially fantasy is necessary, because the real world is too vast for just one way of linear thinking; we need to learn to see beyond the surface, beyond our empirical (or senses-based) interactions. Fantasy gives shape to the abstract, and allows us to grasp the invisible.
10-If someone had never read a fantasy book before and asked you to recommend the first three books that came to mind as places to start, what would these recommendations be?
Ooh, this is a tough one! Namely because fantasy is such a broad spectrum. I might select a few from different subgenres, just to see what more I could give them. Maybe I'd start my friend out with Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis as a good portal fantasy—if they like that one, then I know that they’ll like books with lots of magic, they don’t mind talking animals, and they definitely want to see good win out sooner rather than later.
The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer, I would recommend to somebody who watched a lot of Disney films growing up, but they don’t see how the fairy tales could be “upgraded” for even more entertainment.
And thirdly, I’d want them to read Inkheart, because Cornelia Funke has an amazing way with bringing fantasy so close to the real world that it’s kind of amazing, that book in particular captures an “outsider’s” perspective of fantasy literature.
11-What is the most recent fantasy retelling content creator you came across the you’d like to shout out?
As a matter of fact, the most recent featured review I've posted here on the blog happens to be a retelling, and yes, I did enjoy it very much!
The book was Severance by M. A. Smith, and it came off as sort of a re-telling of The Little Mermaid--but very much along the lines of "if Hans Christian Andersen's classic tale had truly been told entirely from the mermaid's point of view", rather than just the surface things described as a human would. I would go on, but you can read my full review by clicking >This linked text<. Bottom line, she deserves a shout-out for her excellent work!
And finally, I'll close out this post by tagging five more bloggers to talk about their reading experiences!
Feel free to offer your own answers to any of these questions, or comment about any of these titles you've read, or you might want to read! Join the conversation!
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