I was tagged by Sifa Elizabeth, and apparently the tag originates from Bree Hill.
What is your Fantasy Origin? (The First Fantasy you Read)
If children’s books count, that would be the Narnia books by C.S. Lewis. If we’re looking for something a bit more adult, that would be Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein. And if we’re looking for something that’s probably, I don’t know, a bit more my kind of book, that would be Dragonsong by Anne MacCaffrey. All of these I read before I was 10. 😀
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?
I’m not really sure what this question means. Is it like if someone bases a character off of me and they say “this character is Raina” or is this more like if there was a magic in the world and I would actually be the person in a real world in the book written by the author? And if so, umm, does the author have to write what I do, or do they sort of get to make some of it up? Because that would make me really uncomfortable and no way would I consent to it ….
Otherwise, life is life, and you really can’t guarantee what happens to you, in this world, or in a fantasy one! But it’s a really weird thing to think about … unless we’re going with the first option. In which case, I mean, my requirements are a little looser. Not saying how loose, but a little! But I think we’re going with possibility #2: it’s real.
Plus does it have to be a currently living author?
I think the honor goes to Mercedes Lackey, but she has to understand no romance, no sex, no demon gods or twisted mages appealing to my non-existent sexuality. So far, I haven’t seen a lot of authors who seem to understand just how non-existent some people’s sexualities are; it’s like everyone has at least something there, even if it’s usually very quiet! But why not let them try it? And be like, “What? What? I know I can seduce anyone, look at my utterly seductive perfect sexuality.” Hmm, some of us just … don’t. Having even the most nascent sexuality isn’t a requirement of being a human being. It really isn’t.
Huh … what else. I don’t really care about being a hero. But I’m not willing to kill, and I worship one of the gods, be it Anathei, Vkandis, the Star-Eyed.
Alternately, Anne MacCaffrey and I want to fly Thread! I really love dragons, S. Kaeth you could give me a dragon, too. No thread, but that’s fine. I’m fine with a cozy dragon story.
What is a fantasy series you’ve read this year, that you want more people to read?
The Coming of Áed by E.G. Radcliff. I loved Ninian so much! I loved Áed and Ninian so much! I just had to have more of them from the preview … plus there’s something that happens in The Wild Court that is the absolutely best and I almost never see, but it’s a major spoiler, so if you want to know, you can check out my review here!
What is your favourite fantasy subgenre?
Huh. I’ll just go with high fantasy. To define it further: this means fiction that is set in a world that is not ours. I don’t need detailed magic systems. I don’t care a lot about laws of magic; I can enjoy most types of magic! But I really prefer my fiction set outside this world. And I also like a lot of fantastic elements! Though I am quite all right with little or no magic or fantasy elements and an intricate world inspired by ancient civilizations – just as long as it’s set in a world of its own!
What subgenre have you not read much from?
I could make a list, and I’m keeping this down to subgenres that are specific to fantasy that I know of, because there are lots of subgenres that can overlap with fantasy but aren’t particular to fantasy, and there are probably lots of subgenres that I don’t even think of!
I. Do. Not. Read. Horror.
I rarely read Urban Fantasy.
I rarely read Dystopia.
I rarely read Grimdark Fantasy.
Who is one of your auto buy fantasy authors?
I actually don’t have any auto buy authors of any genre. There is not a single author out there who I will buy something just because she wrote it, without giving it some attention first to see if I expect to like it or not.
How do you typically find fantasy recommendations? (Goodreads, YouTube, Podcasts, Instagram)
Either getting to know the author somewhere, whether that’s via their blog or interacting on Social Media of some sort. Or bookblogs! I’ve found a number of reads via reviews on book blogs and the like.
What is an upcoming fantasy release you’re excited for?
Runedance by Beth Hudson. I read the first book about Traedis, Goldsong, a while ago, and I am quite interested in more! I’m not quite sure when Runedance is coming, but the author recently announced on her Twitter that it is coming, so I am hopeful to see it sometime soon!
What is one misconception about fantasy you would like to lay to rest?
I’m terrible at following along with what people’s conceptions are about things, so one day in all likelihood I will come across one of these and write an article, or even three, on my blog about it! But at the moment, I can’t think of many that I’ve actually seen. That I have seen people complain that other people have, yes, but that I’ve actually seen in practice, and noticed for what they are? Not that I can remember.
Actually, if I had to think of one … that it’s anti-Christian or dangerous to Christianity and being Christian. I actually don’t know if it is dangerous to some people’s “Christianity,” but it’s definitely not dangerous to a real belief in the Resurrection. And anything that can be threatened by fantasy or that fantasy is inherently-anti, let it fall!
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?
This is hard. I really don’t know ….
What sort of books do they like anyways? Epic? Cozy? Slice of Life? Action? If you’re into lots of action, I’d say probably don’t come to me. I’ll follow in Sifa’s footsteps, and pick one for each age group, YA, MG, and Adult, just to make this simpler.
The Last Herald-Mage Trilogy (I started by reading the last one, Magic’s Price, first).
Into the Land of the Unicorns (So far, I’ve only read books one and two of this series, The Unicorn Chronciles).
Between Starfalls (So far, only books one and two of the Children of the Nexus series are available, so naturally, they are the only ones I have read).
What is the most recent fantasy retelling content creator you came across the you’d like to shout out?
I’ll shout out Leslie Conzatti with The Princess of Undersea. I haven’t actually read her book, and I don’t know a whole lot about retellings, and might not recognize one if it was under my nose, but I’ll give her a shoutout since I know she writes retellings!
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Enthralled By Love 