Category Archives: titan magic

The “Look” Challenge

Edit: I forgot to warn. The excerpt in this post contains mild spoilers for Titan Magic (book one). Read at your own risk.

I’ve been tagged by the awesome MR Graham. Who knew that would happen? And it’s a fun one, giving me the opportunity to post a teaser from Titan Magic: Body and Soul.

Here are the rules of The “Look” Challenge: “Take your current manuscript and find the first instance of the word “look”. Then post the surrounding paragraphs as an excerpt of the book on your blog. Lastly, tag five more blogging authors who you think would be a good choice for the game.”

And if you’re reading this and you’re currently working on a novel, I tag you! Because that’s how I roll.

Okay. Here’s my excerpt:

Marcus planted his hands on his hips and stood over Kaspar like a menacing specter. “Last question,” he said. “How many of these books have you read?”

Kaspar couldn’t answer, not because he didn’t want to, but because he didn’t know. He hadn’t kept count. The truth was, at any given time, Kaspar was connected by invisible threads of paper to hundreds of books in The Lost Library. And he read them all at once, usually more than once. The truth was Kaspar had come very close to memorizing more than he could count. He took a deep breath and prepared to answer with a gesture—one that both Marcus and William would be able to understand, one that would bring Kaspar another step closer to meeting the Titan and to his own annihilation.

With a tug, he pulled every book in sight from its place on the shelves. The sudden music of a million fluttering pages, of hundreds of spines hitting the ground punctuated the gesture beautifully. William’s mouth fell open in silent horror, but Marcus only gazed down at Kaspar with a look of deep resignation.

Kaspar allowed silence to penetrate his labyrinthine home. Then he replaced every book at once. And it was leaves in a forest, the sound that second gesture produced. It was a whirling storm of information.

“It seems our little wooden prince is a prodigy,” Marcus said. “But I think the most telling part of this story is that he felt the need to keep it from us until now. He’s exerting his independence; he has been since the very beginning.” Marcus pushed the stacks of William’s books aside and leaned over, palms to the desk, until he was looking his master right in the eye. “And you’ve been helping him.”

Fairy Tale Fortnight

From April fifteenth to the thirtieth, The Book Rat is holding an event called “Fairy Tale Fortnight”, and Titan Magic gets to be part of it! It’s going to be a fantastic couple of weeks filled with reviews, guest posts, excerpts, and giveaways. So if you have an addiction to fairy tales and folklore like I do, be sure to check it out! I expect to find an abundance of new books to add to my must-read list.

Places to Go, People to Meet, Blogs to Read

This last month has been such fun! I thought I’d share what I’ve been up to.

On September 30th, Titan Magic received a five star review from The Little Blue Pig book blog! And I was invited to give an author interview, which is always a pleasure.

Over at A New Kind of Ordinary I got to write about why I love folklore and why I fill my stories with it whenever I can. There’s a giveaway contest going on, too. You still have time to enter to win!

In Libris Veritas has just posted a wonderful review and an author interview, in which I got to answer some truly thought-provoking questions.

And last but not in the least bit least, I was invited to participate in an event at What’s Your Story. It will be an interview/giveaway, and it’s scheduled for March 1st.

What’s in a Name? Besides Letters I Mean.

I find it fascinating how some characters influence their names, and even more so, how a name will often influence the character. I thought it might be fun to examine how the nine characters in Titan Magic got their names, and what those names did for them. I’ll divide them by family and dive right in, starting with the heads of the households, as a matter of due respect.

The Lavoie Family

Charlotte‘s first name happened because a voice actor for an animated film (a billion points if you can guess which one) pronounced the name in a way that had me roaring every time. The film was supposed to be romantic and tragic, but I just couldn’t help laughing every time Charlotte’s love interest said her name… and he said it often. So Charlotte Lavoie was born. She never fails to laugh in the face of tragedy, and I still love her name.

I decided on Madeleine‘s name while eating madeleines. They are so good. So, so good. This has little to do with the character herself, but it is a funny way to come by a name.

Oh, Marcus… “The brother” was not terribly complex when he began. He was only there to prevent Maddy from being an only child. I knew he was a responsible kid with a real mean streak, but I had no idea what to name him. I happened to bike right past a building called Marcus Pavilion just as I was mulling it over. He’s been Marcus ever since, and as it turns out, he plays a MUCH more vital role than I originally intended. As soon as he had a name, he just kind of… took over. Then he totally yelled at me for not having realized he was a main character right away (true story).

The Mahler Family

Father Androcles was named for Androcles of “Androcles and the Lion” fame. And if you have no idea what I’m talking about, you should find out! Seriously! You’ve heard the fable before; you just don’t remember. His I’ll-scratch-your-back-if-you-scratch-mine attitude was part of where he got his name.

Duke Eli Mahler took his name from a Decemberists song called “Eli the Barrow Boy”. I just love that name. As soon as I heard it, I knew it was perfect for the ignoble duke. I even included a scene in which Eli utilizes a wheelbarrow because I just didn’t see him as the type of guy who would forget his own roots.

James got his name from one of the greatest antagonists in all of children’s literature: Captain James (Jas) Hook. Anyone who knows me knows my enormous esteem for J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan. It is one of the loveliest, most imaginative pieces ever written. I gave Jas Captain Hook’s name in an attempt to honor them both. And because I like the sound of it. That, too.

The Others

William (Squeezable) Taylor took his name from a friend who jokingly asked me to name a character after him, and then asked me to make that character a pimp. I complied, sort of. Then Will took over and shocked me in much the same way Marcus had. I just love it when they do that.

The Queen of Silence’s given name, Désirée, was inspired by the name of Titan Magic‘s first reader, who gave me the encouragement I needed to finish the story when it was being the trouble-maker it often was.

And finally, Kaspar… I just love the name, and The Other Lamm says I’m not allowed to use it for my future children (you can commence yelling at him, now). As a character, Kaspar has a special place in my heart, and I hope you’re just a little curious about him because you’ll be seeing much more of him in book two!

It’s Sylvia Cassedy All Over the Place

This week, I was able to participate in a special event over at Esther’s Ever After. Digitally speaking, I’m the first booth on your right. I got to write a nostalgic post about my favorite childhood book, and Brenna was kind enough to host a giveaway for one paperback copy of Titan Magic. It’s free! And international! I’m not entirely sure how long the contest will last, so if you’re interested, head on over, read about my childhood eccentricities, laugh at my inability to spell the author’s name, and enter to win!

Ester's Ever After