The Ilyon Chronicles

Dagger’s Sleep Read-Along: Allegory

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To start off the discussions for this read-along, I’d like to talk about allegories and stories with allegorical elements. They are a staple of Christian fantasy, and there are a lot of opinions out there on them.

What is an allegory?

 Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines allegory as “the expression by means of symbolic fictional figures and actions of truths or generalizations about human existence” or as “a symbolic representation.” A synonym for allegory would be parable or fable, which would be stories with a moral or theme. 

In Christian fantasy when we talk about allegory, we usually mean a story that is a symbolic representation of Christianity. Or, as the parables in the Bible are usually defined, “an earthly story with a Heavenly meaning.” 

The first allegory most of us think of would be Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. This is probably one of the clearest examples of an allegory because the entire book is one big allegory with very few to no elements that are simply story elements not part of the allegory.

Often, Christian storytellers won’t tell a straight allegory, but will opt for writing a story that has some allegorical elements. This means that much of the story is there for the story while some parts of it have a deeper meaning. Another way of thinking about it is that there is the book level story going on, then there is the allegorical story going on buried beneath.

This can be done in varying degrees. Some stories will have a lot of allegorical elements. Others will have less or be very subtle with the allegorical elements.

Series like The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis and The Blood of Kings by Jill Williamson have a great many allegorical elements while the Tales of Goldstone Wood by Anne Elisabeth Stengl is a lot more subtle and twisty with the allegorical parts. Or there are books like Out of Darkness Rising by Gillian Bronte Adams has so few pieces of the story that are just story elements that it could be considered a full allegory. Allegorical stories might even look like The Ilyon Chronicles by Jaye L. Knight that is a non-magical fantasy that sticks very close to the Christianity of the real world with fantasy names.

Stories with allegorical elements could also be called suppositions. They are basically a giant “what if” question. This is how C.S. Lewis wrote The Chronicles of Narnia. He staunchly resisted the idea that they were allegories and instead called them suppositions. They are his answers to the question, “What if God created a world called Narnia with talking beasts and moving, talking trees? How would Jesus Christ be revealed in this world?”

Thus, stories with allegorical elements hinge on the fact that God is an unchanging God. Even if the how changes so that the setting is now a fantasy world with talking animals or singing trees, God as He is revealed in the Bible does not change.

But, should a Christian write an allegorical story? God, in His good pleasure, made this world the way it is for a reason. Should we even dabble in speculating on how God would be presented in a different world?

It’s a weighty question. A question that should be asked. But, I think, it is a question that should be asked of any Christian fiction, not just speculative fiction. Because any Christian fiction, whether it is historical fiction or Biblical fiction or romance or contemporary, steps into interesting territory. Is the writer playing God by deciding who is saved in the book and who isn’t? What about having God answer prayers in the book? Deciding which prayers are answered? It’s enough to make a Christian terrified of writing any Christian fiction ever.

But stories are important. A large chunk of the Bible is told in stories. True stories, yes. But the fact that stories were included shows that stories are an effective way God communicates with us. He could have inspired the Bible to be written as an exposition of doctrines. Yet, much of the Bible is in story format, and even many of the exposition parts of the Bible are grounded with stories. While exposition connects with the head, stories connect with the heart. That’s the power of stories.

There are fictional stories in the Bible. Nathan the prophet tells David a fictional story about sheep to open David’s eyes about his sin. Jesus spoke in many, many parables, and all of those are fiction.

When writing any Christian fiction, whether historical fiction or speculative fiction, many Christian authors will tell you that they write through prayer. They pray as they write that the words are God’s will. That the words give glory to God, whether that is by having a prayer answered or unanswered in the story world or showing a character’s redemption or ultimate destruction or even by showing horror of sin or the gruesomeness of war. That’s how Christians write stories that are God glorifying. Through an abundance of prayer.

But what about allegories? Should those be attempted? Aren’t those perhaps a little out of the bounds of this world?

As mentioned above, parable is actually listed as a synonym for allegory. It could be said that Jesus spoke in allegories when He told parables.

In a rather interesting parable, Jesus told the story of Lazarus and the rich man where the rich man in Hell can talk to Lazarus in Heaven (Luke 16:19-31). There are many differing doctrines on Hell and Heaven in Christianity, but most would agree that there probably isn’t communication between those in Heaven and those in Hell. So not only did Jesus tell a fictional story, it is a fictional story with elements that don’t happen according to how God is pleased to order this world. 

Not only that, but our God is a fantastical God not confined by the laws of nature He is pleased to work through and control in the world we see around us. The Bible is filled with miracles and wonders the likes of which we don’t see around us today. But just because we don’t see things like a world-wide Flood or people being raised from the dead or wooden staffs turning into snakes or the sun standing still in the sky doesn’t mean they didn’t happen or that God is no longer powerful enough to do wonders like that anymore. He is still a powerful God. A fantastical God who can perform wonders beyond our imagination. Historical fiction can’t capture that in the way that fantasy can.

Besides, the concept of symbolic representation shouldn’t be that foreign to Christians. That is, after all, what most of the Old Testament is. The sacrifices were symbolic representations of Christ. David was a type of Christ. The Old Testament is filled with “types and shadows” that pointed to redemption in Jesus Christ. In other words, while the Old Testament is true stories that really happened, God is so in control of history that all those true stories are also God’s allegories to be examples for us (I Cor. 10:11).

This, then, is what Christian authors are mimicking when writing allegories and stories with allegorical elements. We are using a story-telling and truth-telling pattern God has already established in the Bible. These stories function much like the Old Testament in that they use pictures, types, and symbols to point to God.

But how does this work when using a Christ-figure or God-figure in a story? For example, like Aslan in Narnia? Should this be done? Would that be making an image of God or Christ?

In allegorical stories, there are a number of different ways to use a Christ-figure or God-figure. In The Chronicles of Narnia, the whole Trinity is portrayed with the Emperor across the Sea (God), Aslan (Christ), and Aslan’s breath (the Holy Spirit). Often, allegorical stories will concentrate on just a Christ-figure, like the Thorn King in Waking Beauty by Sarah Morin or the Word in the Follower of the Word series. Sometimes, the stories will feature a human character who is Christ-like and points to an aspect of Christ, like Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings.

The Bible itself uses figures to point to God and Christ. David was a Christ-figure. Moses was a Christ-figure. Many of the characters in the Old Testament pointed to an aspect of Christ in some shape or form. And these were sinful people that were used to point to Christ.

In His parables, Jesus uses figures to point to Himself. There is the parable of the shepherd looking for his lost sheep. There is the woman looking for her lost coin where the woman in the story points to Christ. There is even a parable of the woman pleading before the unjust judge that tells us to be constant in prayer where the figure being used to point to God is an evil judge (Luke 18:1-8). Not a figure many of us would immediately think to use to point to our just and compassionate God, though this story demonstrates how even Jesus in His parables had story elements that were there just for the story and were not necessarily to be taken as part of the allegory.

Even when the Christ-figure or God-figure is very divine-like, such as Aslan, they are in the end a symbolic figure. They won’t capture the whole of God as He has revealed Himself to us (they can’t. They are, after all, just pictures and types). And thus, they are not an image to be worshiped. They point to God or Jesus or the Holy Spirit, but they are not an image of them. When praying, we don’t pray using the name of Aslan or any other Christ-figure from a book. We pray using the name of Jesus Christ.

The exception might be a story like The Ilyon Chronicles that is more Christianity manifested directly in a non-magical fantasy type world (though not strictly kingdom adventure due to the fantasy names for God and the existence of dragons). This series acts more like The Blades of Acktar where God is God rather than a story with allegorical elements.

So, yes. I firmly believe Christian can write and read Christian fantasy stories and allegories. The Bible is filled with stories of all genres, everything from true accounts to fiction to, yes, even speculative fiction and stories containing “fantasy” elements that display God’s power over the Creation.

Allegories many not be for every Christian reader. In my Christian liberty, I have been uplifted by and have no problem reading and writing Christian fantasy. In your Christian liberty, you may feel convicted not to. Personally, I don’t read Biblical fiction because, to me, messing with Bible stories no matter how well-researched doesn’t sit well with me, and I would rather read a fantasy story I know is purely fiction pointing toward truth. Yet, to you, Biblical fiction might be perfectly all right. Thanks to our liberty in Christ, both are correct stances to take.

But I do believe it never hurts to take a step back and evaluate our convictions as to how we exercise our Christian liberty so that we know why we make the choices we do. We may find that as we mature some of our convictions on how we exercise our Christian liberty may change and grow as well.

Writing an Allegorical Story

While many Christian authors would probably agree with my definition and defense of allegories and allegorical stories above (though perhaps with a few quibbles here and there), there are many different ways Christian authors apply it based on their own convictions. After all, even J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis had spirited debates about this topic.

When I set out to write Dagger’s Sleep, I quickly learned that writing an allegorical story is downright terrifying. When writing The Blades of Acktar, I was mostly writing ordinary Christian fiction, just set in a place that doesn’t line up with any country, place, time, culture, or era in our real world. In Christian fantasy circles, this genre is often called kingdom adventure because it is an action-adventure that doesn’t have any elements that aren’t normally found in our world, yet it is set in a made-up country.

But with Dagger’s Sleep, I was taking one step closer to fantasy. Personally, I have no problem with fantasy. I read a lot of fantasy. All of my books before The Blades of Acktar were straight-up fantasy with magic and dragons and all the normal elements of fantasy. But I know many Christian readers are leery of fantasy, and I’m a non-confrontational type person. I don’t like disappointing people.

Not to mention, merging fantasy with Christianity is a tricky business (thus this entire blog post). Things get complicated quickly. Was I effectively pointing to God in the allegorical parts? Were the allegorical parts saying what I thought they were saying and not accidentally making a different point altogether? What if the allegorical parts ended up too cliche? The point of writing an allegorical story, after all, is to be able to do things that you can’t in Christian historical fiction or other similar genres. Were the story parts and the allegorical parts meshing into one story that felt organic instead of forced?

Honestly, if I were a smarter author, I probably would have avoided writing anything even remotely allegorical. They can be stomach-ulcer-inducing worrisome to write. And even harder to market and sell. Even Anne Elisabeth Stengl, acclaimed for her allegorical Tales of Goldstone Wood series, stopped writing them for now because they struggled to be financial viable.

But I don’t regret writing Dagger’s Sleep or the upcoming Midnight’s Curse. I personally love Dagger’s Sleep and, while it is less well-loved than The Blades of Acktar, God has still used it to touch hearts, and I can’t regret that. Here’s a post I wrote back in 2014 before Dare released that gives a short explanation about why I write fantastical fiction. I pray that God continues to use the Beyond the Tales series and that it scrapes up enough sales to make it financial viable to keep writing it.

Dagger’s Sleep is an allegorical story not a straight up allegory. It has plenty of adventure, dangers, and elements to the story that aren’t part of the allegory but are there for the entertaining story.

But due to my personal convictions, I set a few ground “rules” for myself when writing it so that, if questioned, I could at least answer why I wrote it the way I did.

Below are my guidelines I put in place for myself when writing the Beyond the Tales series:

  1. God is God. Therefore, no matter what my story world looks like or how the God-figure is presented, I must not change any of God’s attributes as He has revealed them in the Bible. The world may change, but God will not.
  2. While I did use capital letters for the names given to the God-figure, Christ-figure, and Holy Spirit-figure in the story, I kept the pronouns little case “he” instead of upper case “He” that I used in The Blades of Acktar. The Blades of Acktar was directly talking about the God of the Bible and thus I prefer to use capitals on the pronouns. Dagger’s Sleep is using figures to point to God and thus the pronouns are not given capital letters. No matter how glorious or divine-like the figures, the figures are not God and thus should not be worshiped as God.
  3. I wouldn’t try to answer every question or describe every detail. Sometimes a little mystery to make things feel beyond comprehension goes a long way to make sure I’m not limiting God or reducing God in a what He should not be reduced, even if I am working with a God-figure and allegorical elements that merely point toward God and are not to be taken as God Himself.
  4. I decided to include figures for the entire Trinity instead of concentrating on just one Person of the Trinity to better point to God as fully as I humanly can.
  5. I didn’t use the words magic, witch, wizard, sorcery, necromancy, enchantment, spell, or any words like that. While there are fantastical elements in Dagger’s Sleep, using those magical type words would distract from the overall point since those words can carry connotations I didn’t want to bring into the story.
  6. The fantastical elements used in Dagger’s Sleep would always directly point to the God-figure as the source of true power and thus isn’t all that different from our real world even it it manifests differently.
  7. Since I was writing an allegorical type story, it made the most sense for me to it look more like the Old Testament, since, as I mentioned above, the Old Testament itself is something of an allegorical story. Thus, in the series, the characters are looking forward to the true Cursebreaker’s coming. In this story world, the Christ-figure hasn’t come for redemption yet and thus his appearances in the book are more like when Daniel’s 3 friends walk in the fiery furnace with one whose appearance was as the Son of God (Daniel 3). As this is an Old Testament-like world, it also makes sense for more direct communication between the God-figure and Christ-figure with the characters.
  8. I decided not to give a physical description of the Christ-figure in the book because I don’t want to cross a line into making an image of Christ. I mention things like compassionate eyes, but not the eye color, skin color, hair color, or anything like that.
  9. And, most of all, I would have a Biblical reason I could point to for every element I use. I have specific passages picked out for the more allegorical points of the story. I needed to be Biblically-based for every bit of allegorical element.

These might not be the “guidelines” you’ll see every Christian author use for their stories. They are just mine for this series, especially since I knew many of my current readers are non-magical genre type readers since The Blades of Acktar are non-magical.

Discussion Time

Do you read allegorical type stories and/or Christian fantasy? Why or why not?

If you are a Christian writer, do you write fantasy? Do you have personal guidelines that you follow?

Don’t forget to enter the giveaway for this week (a Kindle copy of Waking Beauty by Sarah Morin), make sure you comment here or on Facebook (more details on yesterday’s post).

Also, don’t forget to sign up for the blog tour for Midnight’s Curse (sign up sheet on yesterday’s post).

 

 

Ilyon & Acktar Character Chat #4

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Chat#4

You can find the previous chats here: Chat #1, Chat #2, Chat #3.

All of the giveaways at the end of these chats are still open through midnight tonight so make sure you enter if you haven’t already done so!

The Ilyon and Acktar characters gather in the kitchen and parlor of Leith and Renna’s cabin. After three previous character chats, the characters are becoming comfortable with each other.

Renna had baked several trays of maple sugar cookies, and everyone has one or two in their hands as they talk.

Kaden, Brandi, Jamie, and Kayleigh are gathered in the parlor and laughing and chatting loudly. Kyrin sits by the table with Renna and Ranson, and the three of them are talking much more quietly, but even Ranson has relaxed with Kyrin’s gentle manner.

Jaye and I are sitting on the opposite side of the table from Renna and Kyrin. I’m nibbling on my second maple sugar cookie while Jaye has some molasses toffee.

But, as I glance around, I notice Leith, Martyn, and Jace appear to be missing. I’m about to ask Renna where they are, when the door opens and the three of them stroll inside, laughing. Their hair is wet, as if they just rinsed off in the Ondieda River in the canyon nearby. Leith and Jace are grinning, and Martyn seems to be shaking his head at something Jace just said.

“Where have you been?” I ask as Leith snags a maple sugar cookie and slides onto the bench next to Renna.

“Sparring.”

I cross my arms as Jace takes the seat next to Kyrin. “You guys decided to go off and have that practice fight without telling me? The fangirls are going to be so disappointed we missed it.”

“Exactly.” Martyn huffs as he joins Kayleigh.

Leith shakes his head. “It wasn’t a fight to see who would win. We were showing each other different moves and skills with an occasional practice round in between. More like training than an actual fight.”

He says it nonchalantly, but I can tell. Whatever sparring match he and Jace had, it was the best match Leith has had in a while.

I turn to Jaye with a gesture in Jace’s direction. “Sorry if Jace starts showing assassin-y skills in the next book.”

Jaye shrugs. “I’m sure he appreciates picking up some new skills that might help him defend Kyrin should the need arise.” She looks at him. “Don’t you?”

Jace nods. “Of course.”

Now that everyone is here, I finish my last bite of cookie. “All right, everyone! Let’s find seats and get this final chat started.”

Kaden, Brandi, and Jamie find seats on the floor. Ranson squirms out from between Renna and Kyrin to retreat to the corner and find a seat on the floor near Jamie and Brandi.

Kayleigh and Martyn sit next to each other on the hearth.

“Welcome to the last Ilyon and Acktar chat, at least for now. Are you guys relieved or sad?”

Leith shifts and looks away from me. “Relieved.”

“But a little sad.” Brandi leans her chin on her knees. “I’m going to miss all my new Ilyon friends.”

“We’ll miss you too.” Kaden gives her a smile. “You’d make a great dragon rider. And you’d all make great additions to the Resistance.”

Jace and Kyrin agree.

“Jaye and I might have to do this again someday.” I grin at Jaye before turning back to the stack of questions in front of me. “Let’s start with an easy one. Martyn and Kayleigh, do you guys get married in this book?”

“Well, um,” Kayleigh lifts her hand, showing that she and Martyn are holding hands. “Isn’t that one of the spoilers we aren’t supposed to be telling as part of these chats?”

“The book has been out for a couple of days, so I think most people probably know the answer by now, so it is probably fine to spoil it.”

Martyn scowls at me. “Nope. I’m not telling. It is my business when I get married and to whom and all that.”

“All right then.” That was all the answer I would get out of Martyn. I had better ask a few more of the questions for Martyn before he goes fully grumpy on me. “Holly wants to know if you have any objections to fan art of you and Wanderer?”

“Fan art?” Martyn’s expression twists, as if he’s torn between a scowl and a smirk.

Kayleigh pats his shoulder. “I would love to see fan art of Martyn. But I’m rather biased.”

“Of course you are.” I try to suppress my grin. “One more question for you, Martyn. How tall are you?”

“5’10” or 5’11”. Something like that.”

“Taller than Leith, but shorter than Jace.” Looking at Martyn’s grouchy expression, I probably should move on to a question for someone else. “Ranson.”

He jumps and appears like he wants to shrink back into the woodwork.

“Don’t worry. This is a somewhat easy question. if you were stranded in the woods in the middle of the night, without any supplies, in the pouring rain, and you could only have one person with you, who would you choose? Why?”

Ranson looks down at his hands and mumbles.

“Sorry, I know you don’t like to be put in the spotlight, but could you say that loud enough for everyone to hear?”

Ranson sneaks a glance at Martyn and Kayleigh where they are perched on the hearth. “Kayleigh. Because she knows how to make snares and cook and stuff.”

Kayleigh smirks, and Martyn’s expression looks torn between offended and approving. Finally, he shrugs. “No, you’re right. I’d pick Kayleigh too.”

“Just a few more questions, Ranson, then you can relax.” I smile reassuringly. “Olivia wants to know how you met Blane? And how Respen found you and Blane?”

Ranson stares at the floor. “I met Blane on the streets after my Nana Harding died. Respen found the two us on the streets one day and took us both to train as Blades.”

Not the longest answer, but it was all the answer I was probably going to get out of Ranson. Time to move on to someone who wouldn’t mind answering questions. “Kaden, what was your first impression of Jace? Has it changed? Did you win most of the fights you got into at Tarvin Hall?”

Kaden laughs. “Well, I suppose my very first impression of Jace was ‘who’s this guy hanging out with my sister, and why is she spending so much time with him?’ He wasn’t the sort I expected Kyrin to become such close friends with. But once I got to know him, I understood. It helped to know he had such a strong desire to protect her. He’s my brother-in-law now, so my impression of him has obviously changed quite a bit.”

Kyrin gives him a warm smile.

“Now, as for those fights…” Kaden shakes he head. “I actually lost most of them. My opponents usually had backup, so most weren’t even fair.” He smirks. “It never stopped me though.”

“Speaking of fights. Jamie, in your opinion, would Leith or Martyn be scarier to face in a fight?”

“Leith.” Jamie doesn’t hesitate.

When Martyn doesn’t protest, I glance at him. He shrugs. “I fought at Leith’s side when he was a Blade, remember? There were times he scared me.”

“It isn’t something to be proud of.” Leith shakes his head.

“This is a question for all the characters. What would be your go-to passage(s) of Scripture (or King’s Scrolls in Ilyon) for when you are feeling discouraged?”

“Psalm 27 is my favorite.” Renna shrugs. “Though I think everyone already knew that.”

“I like Romans 8. And Psalm 46. And, well, a lot of passages.” Brandi grins. “And most of the book of Daniel, of course.”

“Daniel 3 is a favorite, of course.” Leith traces one of the twisting wood grains on the table. “But I haven’t really picked a favorite yet. It’s still all so new. Large chunks of the Bible I’ve only read once.”

“I like Isaiah 55:8-9,” Kyrin says. “It reminds me that God is in control and has a plan even when we can’t see what it is. I’ve had to rely on that a lot.”

Jace shrugs. “Like Leith, I haven’t had a chance to read the Scrolls as much as I would have liked since we don’t have many copies, but from what I have read, my favorite is probably Psalms 22:24.”

Kaden thinks about it for a moment. “I don’t really have a particular favorite, but I like Psalms 9:9-10. It’s definitely a passage to keep in mind with everything going on in Ilyon.”

“Here’s a random question also for everyone: have you ever eaten raccoon? The reader who asked this question has herself, so she was wondering if any of you had.” I glance over at Jace, Kyrin, and Kaden. “Are there raccoons in Ilyon?”

“There are, but I can’t say I’ve ever eaten one,” Jace says.

Kyrin and Kaden shake their heads.

Kayleigh nods. “I’ve eaten raccoon.”

Martyn’s eyes widen. “Wait. Does that mean I’ve had it?”

“Meat is meat.” Kayleigh huffs. “And raccoons are rather plentiful.”

Martyn starts looking a little green.

Leith glances at Renna. Renna shakes her head. “As lady of Stetterly, most of our meat comes from the town’s cattle herd. So no raccoon. So unless Respen fed you guys raccoon, I don’t think you’ve eaten it.”

“I wouldn’t put it past him. Raccoons were a nuisance in Blathe.” Leith grimaces.

“All right then. Jamie.” I glance over at where him and Ranson are doing their best to be invisible in the corner. “What is the most important thing in the world to you?”

“My Bible is very important to me.” Jamie has his head down, but I don’t miss the quick glance he shoots in Brandi’s direction, the tips of his ears going a tad pink.

I try to hide my grin. “The next question is kind of for me, but I guess, Brandi, you can give your opinion on the answer. Ava wants to know if there will be any romance for Brandi.”

Jamie’s ears turn even redder, and he shrinks farther into his corner.

Brandi’s nose crinkles as she grimaces. “Romance?”

“What, don’t you want romance?” I raise my eyes at her.

“Maybe. Eventually. But I don’t know anyone I like that way.” Brandi shrugs. “All the boys I know are like brothers to me.”

I’d better leave it at that and let the fangirls read into the interview what they want for hints about Brandi and Jamie in books 6 and 7. Instead, I grin. “After the earlier chats, someone mentioned they shipped you and Kaden.”

Kaden snorts.

Brandi rolls her eyes. “Seriously? He’s like a big brother.”

Leith puts on an exaggerated hurt expression. “And here I thought I was your big brother.”

“Your my favorite big brother and always will be.” Brandi leans forward from her seat on the floor so she can pat Leith’s shoulder. “But Kaden has a dragon so I’m adopting him for a brother.”

Kaden grins now. “Happy to be adopted.”

“Since we are talking about adopting brothers…Leith, you seem to have a habit of collecting brothers and family. Why do you think that is?”

Leith shrugs. “I was an only child and my family wasn’t…healthy. I would think most people who grow up in a situation like that would long for a real, good family. Maybe I take it a little far, but no one seems to mind. Most of them also need a family.” Leith glances at Jace. “Do you have a habit of adopting brothers or adopting your own sort of family?”

Kyrin leans into Jace’s shoulder. “He has a habit of adopting animals.”

Jace shrugs. “They’re kind of family. Animals were all I had growing up. But I’m more likely to be the one adopted–first with Rayad, Kalli, and Aldor, and now with the Altairs.”

“Kaden, Holly wants to know if you’d prefer fan art of you in a fist fight or riding Exisis?”

“Uh,” Kaden rubs his chin, “probably riding Exsis. Like I said, I lost most of my fist fights.”

“Also, which is faster? Exsis or Storm?”

“Storm. Female dragons are generally a bit faster since they’re smaller.”

“This question is for Renna, but I think I’ll ask it of both Renna and Kyrin. Who do you consider to be your hero/heroine?”

Renna glances at Kyrin, and they both seem to be looking to the other to answer first. Renna looks back to me. “Aunt Mara. I look back at how much she did for us, and it makes me miss her all the more. And, of course, my mother. She faced down First Blade Vane to buy us time to escape.”

“Definitely my father,” Kyrin said quietly. “He sacrificed everything for his faith.”

I swallow back a lump at my throat thinking about Kyrin’s father. I don’t cry often over books, but I cried then. I clear my throat. “I have a number of questions for both Leith and Martyn. How many knives does a Blade carry, and where? Did all the Blades wear black even when they weren’t on a mission? Are all a Blade’s knives the same size and style?”

Leith grimaces, as if he doesn’t like talking about his past in the Blades. “All of our knives were the same shape and style, though Vane carried a few extra that were better for throwing. Yes, we wore black all the time, except for times when we wore tan to blend in to the prairie on spying missions. I think Respen liked the intimidation of having us dressed in black. A Blade was immediately recognizable, and thus feared.”

“Even if black isn’t the most practical for sneaking around. The dark green and dark grays we tend to wear now as Blade Marshals are better.” Martyn pats the knife belted at his waist. “I have…” he pauses a moment to count in his head. “I’m wearing five knives. Two in my boots, two belted to my waist, and one hidden knife.”

“Hidden knife?” I cock my head at him. “We’ve talked about this. You need to give specific answers.”

Martyn glares back. “I’m not blurting out for the whole world where my hidden knife is. That defeats the point.”

Kayleigh taps his back between his shoulder blades. “It’s here. Though he doesn’t wear it all the time since it itches.”

“Kayleigh.” Martyn growls and swings his glare to her.

She doesn’t appear at all phased by his glare and instead cocks her head and gives him a look.

For a moment, his mouth twitches, like he is fighting to hold his scowl, until finally he sighs and looks away. “Fine. But Leith needs to answer too.”

Leith sighs. “Six. Two in my boots, two at my waist, and two across my chest. But I’m experimenting with hiding a few more knives since all of mine are currently visible.”

“Well, there’s mine.” Renna pats her leg where she has a knife hidden beneath her skirt.

“Yes, there is yours.” Leith gives her a smile that softens his eyes. “No one ever expects you to be armed.”

Leith and Renna and their mushy moments. I turn to Jace. “Jace, this isn’t actually a reader question, but I’m going to ask it because I’m curious. How many weapons do you normally carry?”

“Just two, normally. My sword and a hunting knife. If I think I’ll need it, I also carry a bow.”

“Leith and Jace, what was/is the greatest struggle of your life?”

Leith stares at the table top as he thinks. “A lot of my life has been a struggle, but for much of it I gave in instead of fighting to do what was right. And, now, my hardest struggle are the nights when the past seems too close, and I have to remind myself that I’ve been redeemed from it.”

Renna slips her hand into his and leans closer.

“Wondering if I had a soul was my greatest struggle. After all, it nearly killed me.” Jace shakes his head as if thinking back to his time in Samara and the dungeon. “My greatest struggle now is probably my fear of losing Kyrin. We’ve all lost so much, and it’s always so sudden. It’s difficult to balance knowing that I could lose Kyrin or someone else I love just as suddenly and trusting Elom.”

Kyrin squeezes his hand.

Time for a lighter question. I glance up at Martyn and grin. He huffs out a breath, already shaking his head as if that will stop me from asking. “Martyn, if you could describe yourself in one word, what would it be?”

“Stubborn.” Kayleigh says at the same moment Brandi blurts, “Grumpy.”

Martyn shoots both of them an annoyed look, then shrugs. “What they said.”

“All right. Last question. Holly really, really wants Kaden and Martyn to arm wrestle.”

Kaden eyes Martyn. “Something tells me that’s not a good idea.”

Martyn crosses his arms. “Not that I don’t think I’d win, but wasn’t the whole fight with Leetra thing from the first chat bad enough?”

I laugh. “Probably.” I glance over at Jaye. “We actually had Kaden planned for the poll question today, but we didn’t pair him with you. We actually paired him with Kayleigh.”

“Me?” Kayleigh rests a hand on her sword, assessing Kaden.

“You’re both trained in sword fighting, and we figured, since Kaden spars with Kyrin, that he would have less of a problem fighting a girl.” I shrug.

Kaden laughs like he’s a bit nervous. “I wouldn’t turn down a friendly sparring session, but I’m not sure it would be fair.”

Jaye raises a brow at him. “You don’t think Kayleigh has a chance?”

“Oh, no, that’s not what I’m saying.” Kaden pauses and shoots another glance at Martyn. “I just think, if I did win, I might have another opponent to face, so I’d probably throw the fight.”

Martyn smirks and pats his knife while meeting Kaden’s gaze. He doesn’t say anything, but with the way Kaden shifts, Martyn doesn’t have to.

Kayleigh glares first at Martyn, then at Kaden. “Don’t you dare throw the fight. I’ll keep Martyn in line.”

“Will you?” Martyn’s smirk turns a bit gushy.

“Yes.” Kayleigh moves as if to lightly elbow him in the ribs, but he squirms out of elbow reach and avoids it.

I shake my head. Those two.

That’s the last of our character chats! Thanks so much for reading these, everyone! And don’t forget to comment on this post or answer the poll of whether you think Kayleigh or Kaden would win in a fight to be entered to win an Acktar-themed t-shirt.

Giveaway!

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Use the Rafflecopter link below to enter to win an Acktar-themed t-shirt! Giveaway is open to US only.

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Ilyon & Acktar Character Chat #2

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Chat#2

I finish arranging the chairs around one of the large, oak tables in Nalgar Castle’s Great Hall and straighten all the name tags by the seats. Jaye did such a great job hosting all the characters in Ilyon. I want to do just as good a job here in Acktar. Never mind the fact that I’m trying to contain my inner fangirl. Jace is going to be here. In Acktar.

The door to the Great Hall opens, and the Acktar characters file in first. Brandi skips inside, grinning as she locates her name tag by her seat. Leith and Renna enter the room next, holding hands. Leith glances at me, a wary look in his eyes. He’s probably remembering past character chats.

Martyn and Kayleigh come in next, and they are also holding hands. I shake my head. That’s what I get for having so many happy couples. Shad follows them, looking a bit lost without Jolene at his side.

Keevan strolls in last, followed by his brothers-in-law and bodyguards Frank and Patrick.

I point at the bodyguards. “They aren’t necessary for this chat, and I don’t recall inviting them.”

Keevan shrugs. “They wouldn’t listen to me.”

Frank crosses his arms. “We don’t know these other characters you are bringing here, and we aren’t going to leave Keevan unguarded.”

I open my mouth to argue but shake my head. I could remind them that they had to listen to me. I am the author. But…that hasn’t stopped them before. I doubt they’ll listen to me this time either. “Fine. They can stay. Besides, I like Frank and Patrick.”

Patrick grins. “We know. Oh, and Mama said to tell you she has apple pie ready in the kitchen for after this chat. She’s also working on a wheat-free apple dessert for Jaye.”

“I’ll have to thank her for the extra effort.” It’s a good thing King Keevan’s mother-in-law is an excellent cook in her own right with several good cooks working for her. I may need to use the pie as a bribe to get the characters to cooperate.

The doors to the Great Hall open and Jaye L. Knight steps inside, followed by Jace, Kyrin Kaden, Prince Daniel, and Trask. All of the characters are looking around, though Trask and Prince Daniel especially have a glint in their eyes as if accessing the castle’s strengths and weaknesses. Habit, probably.

I run to give Jaye a hug, then I hug Jace. It’s a little awkward, considering he’s fairly tall and I’m so short I don’t even reach his shoulder. He’s probably over a foot taller than me. And the fact that he’s got a longsuffering look on his face that says he’s doing his best to tolerate this hug.

“Kaden!” Brandi runs to give him a hug. I groan. Uh, oh. Brandi really bonded with Talas and Kaden last time. I think she’s claimed two more brothers. And I was worried about Leith’s habit of adopting brothers.

While Jaye catches up with the Acktar characters, I hug Kyrin, Kaden, and Prince Daniel. Prince Daniel eyes me like he’s not sure why he’s getting fangirled over.

By the time I finish, I notice Kyrin, Renna, Leith, and Jace are all chatting in a group. That makes me grin. By the time these chats were over, they’d be good friends.

After I give them all a few more minutes to chat, I call everyone to their seats. The Ilyon characters sit on one side of the table, the Acktar characters the other.

As the host, it’s my job to make introductions and ask the questions. “I believe most of you met at the last character chat over in Ilyon. Shad, Kayleigh, Keevan, this is Jace, Kyrin, Kaden, Trask, and Prince Daniel. Ilyon characters, this is Kayleigh, Martyn’s girlfriend, Shad Alistair, and King Keevan of Acktar.”

Kayleigh smiles at the Ilyon characters while Keevan gives them each a nod. Across the table from Keevan, Prince Daniel of Ilyon eyes Keevan’s bodyguards.

Keevan gestures over his shoulder at Frank and Patrick. “Never hire your brothers-in-law as your bodyguards. They tend to be rather overprotective.”

Daniel darts a glance at Jace.

“Hey, what was that?” Jaye demands.

Daniel looks at her innocently. “What?”

Kaden and Trask smirk and look toward the ceiling.

“That’s exactly the sort of thing that gets the fangirls talking.” Jaye shakes her head. “Sorry, Tricia, go on.”

“All right then. Let’s get started with the questions.” I pull out a paper with a long list of questions. “Let’s start with a question that several readers have been eager to know: Jace and Leith, do you think the two of you would be friends if you lived in the same world?”

Leith glances across the table at Jace, shrugs, then turns to me. “Probably.”

I glare at him. “That’s not much of an answer.”

Leith sighs. “We already kind of answered this on the last chat, but fine. Our pasts are similar, and we could teach each other a few fighting techniques. Yes, we’d probably be friends.”

“Better.” I smile at Jace. “Jace, do you have anything to add?”

“I agree. I think we’d understand each other the way Holden and I do.”

“Good answers. How about another easy one. Janice wants to know how much taller Jace is than Leith.”

Leith glances across the table at Jace. “A lot.”

“Well, you’re five foot nine or so.” I turn to Jaye. “How tall is Jace?”

“Jace is six foot three.”

“There you have it. Jace is six inches taller than Leith.” I grin as I reach the next question. “Leith, Addyson wants to know: how does it feel to know you’ll only ever be second best to the sweetest cinnamon roll ever aka Jace?”

“Fine by me. Fangirls are scary. He can have them.” Leith shakes his head, and Renna squeezes his hand as if he needs reassurance.

Jace looks embarrassed. “I still don’t understand fangirls.”

I laugh. “Well, Jace, Addyson did say to tell you sorry, but you’re well loved.”

He shrugs. “According to Jaye, that’s a good thing.”

“Time for a question for someone else for a change.” I look down the table toward where Brandi sits at the end of the Acktar side. “Brandi, what do you think of Jace? You haven’t had much of a chance to get to know him, and you spent most of the last chat talking with Talas and Kaden, but I know you. You form opinions of people pretty quickly.”

Brandi grins. “Well, he has a gorgeous black horse and a black wolf for a pet. Of course I like him. Now the real question is whether he can tolerate me or if he thinks I’m annoying and talk too much.”

Jace sends her a quick smile. “I think we’d be all right now. I might not have tolerated you well a couple of years ago, but I’ve grown a lot since then.”

“I would’ve won you over eventually. I always do.” Brandi glares at Martyn. “Even if some people are too grumpy to appreciate it.”

Martyn huffs and mutters something under his breath. Kayleigh lightly smacks his arm.

“Well, we’d always be glad to have you at the Altair table.” Kaden grins at Brandi. “I’ll make a dragon rider out of you yet.”

Letting Brandi meet Talas and Kaden at the last chat might not have been such a good thing. I can only imagine how much trouble she would get into with a dragon. “Brandi, I have a couple more questions for you. What do you think are your weaknesses? And who is your best friend?”

“Weakness?” Brandi grins. “I’m reckless.”

Renna shakes her head. Leith huffs. Kaden grins at her like she’s a kindred spirit.

“As for my best friend, that would be Jamie, though he is more of a brother than a friend.” Brandi shrugs. “I am also close to Shad’s sister Abigail, though I don’t get to see her as much as I would like.”

Considering Brandi is friends with everyone, at least she kept her list short.

“Keevan, I have quite a few questions for you.” I shuffle my papers. I almost don’t want to ask him the next questions. “The first two are kind of…tough. I’m sorry. Leah. S. wants to know why were you such a coward hiding at Eagle Heights? You let your cousins take your burden. And Addyson calls you nasty stinking Keevan and says that she gets that Leith tried to murder you and all, and that’s hard to get over, but Leith is amazing so why can’t you just get over it and be friends with him?”

The room gets an awkward, tense silence to it. Keevan’s arms are crossed, his knuckles white as he clenches his fists. But his face is almost too carefully blank. Leith is staring at the table, looking like he wants to bolt from the room. Renna’s gaze is also focused on the table as she grips Leith’s hand. Martyn and Kayleigh are taking the opposite approach and studying the ceiling as if they really don’t want to be asked to respond.

Brandi snorts. “The fangirls tell it like it is, don’t they?”

Keevan shakes his head and waves from Prince Daniel to Jace. When he speaks, his rasp scratches through his voice. “Let this be a lesson to you, Prince Daniel. Don’t ever throw the fan favorite–Jace–in prison or in any other way hurt him. The readers will never forgive you.”

Daniel raises his hands. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

I sigh. “Keevan, I hate to force you to answer this one, but you’re avoiding it.”

Keevan runs his thumb along the scar tracing down his cheek and neck. “I lost my entire family in a single night. I was nearly killed myself and spent months unable to speak. I was driven from my home and spent over five months essentially imprisoned in a single room in Walden Manor to stay hidden. Those older and wiser than me were telling me going into hiding and leaving Renna and Brandi at Stetterly was the best plan, and at that point, who was I to question their wisdom? If that makes me a coward, then so be it. I’m human. Maybe that isn’t a good excuse, and maybe there was something I could have done. But I wasn’t able to see another option at the time.”

“You didn’t have much of a choice.” Renna raises her head, her back straightening. “We may have been in just as much danger if you’d brought us to Eagle Heights and by that action caused Respen to realize there was a secret hideaway he needed to find. Besides I might never have met Leith if I’d been hiding away in Eagle Heights with you.”

Renna and Leith share one of their looks and smiles.

Kaden shakes his head. “You two are as lovey-dovey during these chats as Jace and Kyrin.”

Keevan turns away from them, still rubbing at his scar. “As for the other question. I’m trying. That’s the best I can do at the moment.”

“Fair enough, I guess.” I flip notecards to the next question. “How about an easier one, then? Keevan, what do you think of Jace?”

“I don’t have an issue with him, if that’s what they’re asking. My problem with Leith is personal. It doesn’t affect how I feel about all former killers and assassins.” Keevan glances at Jace across the table. “He’s a good warrior, and someone I’d be honored to have in my army if he lived in Acktar.”

Jace nods in thanks.

Good answer. At least Keevan wouldn’t dig himself into a deeper hole with the fangirls.

Time to pick on someone else for a little while. “Renna, Leah wants to know how you will deal with Leith being gone all the time?”

Renna smiles at Leith before she faces me. “It will be tough, but God will still be with me. Besides, I survived being left alone at Nalgar Castle with Respen. I think I’ll be able to handle a few weeks when I’m in my own cabin with Brandi, Jamie, Ranson, and Kayleigh for company.”

“In other words, we shouldn’t worry about you.” I look down the table at Martyn, and he glares back. “Martyn. How will you deal with leaving Kayleigh and your brother behind when you go on missions with Leith and Shad?”

“Wait. Let me get this straight. The fangirls want to know how Renna will handle waiting for Leith when he’s gone, yet they think I’m the one who’s going to be helplessly pining after Kayleigh? What about Kayleigh? Shouldn’t she be the one pining away at home?”

Shad hides a chuckle behind his hand.

“You wish.” Kayleigh lightly swats his shoulder. “You know I can’t handle having you underfoot all the time. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”

“I know you are, but…” Martyn crosses his arms. “This question is ridiculous. I’m fine. Kayleigh’s fine. Leith and Renna are obviously fine.”

Kaden smirks.

Time to move on to another question before Martyn starts insulting people. “Keevan, Karis wants to know how do you feel that Addie strengthened your faith early on in your relationship?”

A warm smile sneaks across Keevan’s face. “Addie is sensible. She doesn’t waste time on self-pity, and she kept me from completely wallowing in self-pity those first few months. She and her whole family taught me a lot about what it means to give selflessly, and that strengthened my faith in a lot of ways.”

“Thank you, Keevan.” I glance around at all the characters sitting along the table. “This question is for everyone. Sorry, it is another uncomfortable one. Who do you think has killed the most out of all of you here? Apparently leading people into battle counts.”

The characters start whispering to each other and shifting uncomfortably. It’s not a question any of them really wants to answer. Killing the most people isn’t something any of them want to brag about. Maybe if we had Vane, Davira, and Respen sitting at this table, one of them would’ve gladly stepped forward. They probably would’ve fought over who was the most evil.

But these characters sitting before me? They don’t see kills as something to glory in.

Surprisingly, Jace speaks up first. “None of us from Ilyon have led anyone into battle, but of the four of us, the answer would be me. I can’t speak for anyone from Acktar.”

Keevan lets out a long breath. “Probably me. I have led men into battle, into a battle against fellow countrymen. The lives lost on both sides aren’t something I take lightly.”

Of course he didn’t. Keevan was the type of king who knew the casualty figures from both sides of the battles he fought to regain his throne, and he saw those casualties as more than numbers, but as a weight of individual lives and losses.

Leith shakes his head. “It’s not the same. Not like the way I killed. And in that case, then it’s probably me. And I don’t want to know if I’ve killed more than Jace or not. It doesn’t matter. The answer is still too much for both of us, and we both are deeply thankful that there is redemption for someone like us.”

Jace nods, as if Leith said exactly what he was thinking.

Time to change the subject and lighten the mood. “Keevan, I think it’s time we served the apple pie and other desserts?”

Kaden rubs his hands together and shoots a grin at Brandi.

Keevan gestures, and in a few minutes, servants enter the Great Hall with trays of food and place a plate by everyone’s seat.

After giving everyone a few minutes to dig in, I turn to the Acktar characters. “Shad. I haven’t asked any questions of you yet.”

He swallows a bite of his apple pie and sits straighter. “Yes?” He braces himself as if expecting some difficult question.

“Relax. The fangirls went easy on you. Holly wants to know if you would like to visit Ilyon?”

“Of course. It sounds like a fascinating place.” Shad crosses his arms. “And I didn’t get to visit with some of the others last time.”

“No, you didn’t. Sorry about that. Two more questions: Just how good of an archer are you? And, can Jolene out-shoot you?”

Shad rubs at the back of his neck. “I’m a good archer. Jace, here, could probably out-shoot me. I don’t really know. I’ve never shot as part of a competition before. And can Jolene out-shoot me? Yep.”

I raise my eyebrows at him. “Are you saying that because she actually can out-shoot you or you don’t actually know who is the better shot or you don’t dare say anything else?”

Shad grins. “Yes.”

Trask laughs heartily. “Wise man.”

“Trask, the last question is for you. What were you thinking after you kissed Anne, she pushed you off your horse, and you watched her gallop away?”

“That I couldn’t wait to marry her one day.” He smiles happily. “Now I’m just glad the wait is over.”

“So are all of us fangirls. The wait was excruciating. That’s all for today’s chat. Thanks so much for coming and cooperating.” I smile and nod to all the characters. “As the last part of today’s chat, we have set up a poll for the readers where they can vote whether they think Shad or Trask would win in a fight.”

Shad and Trask glance at each other.

Shad raises his eyebrows, grins, and pats his sword hilt. “That could be interesting, considering we are both noble sons raised to use a sword.”

Trask nods. “Sounds like we should set up a little friendly competition sometime.”

I shake my head. So much friendlier of a reaction than the Leetra and Martyn fight.

Giveaway!

AcktarGiveaway

I’m giving away a signed copy of Decree along with a full set of Acktar character cards with art by H.S.J. Williams. Giveaway is open only to the US due to cost of shipping. 

If you want to vote on the Shad/Trask fight (and enter the giveaway), make sure you vote and enter using the Rafflecopter link below.

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Ilyon & Acktar Blog Tour

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Ilyon and Acktar Blog Tour Header

Today launches the Ilyon & Acktar blog tour! Jaye and I are excited to share this tour and these books with you!

Below is the blog tour schedule with links to all the posts. Take special note of the 4 character chats. These are the combined character chats Jaye and I put together based on reader questions for both the Ilyon and Acktar characters. Not only are these chats hilariously fun, but they also have 4 additional giveaways on top of the main tour giveaway (at the end of this post).

The first chat and giveaway start today over on Ilyonchronicles.com!

Tour Schedule

Friday – December 14 – Release Day for Bitter Winter & Lacy!

Saturday – December 15

Monday – December 17

Tuesday – December 18 – Release Day for Decree!

Wednesday – December 19

 Thursday – December 20

Friday – December 21

Saturday – December 22

Jaye L. Knight’s newest novel, Bitter Winter, and companion novella Lacy released today! I am so excited for Jaye and for these books!

The Ilyon Chronicles

Bitter Winter

About Bitter Winter

Already struggling with a harsh winter and the threat of food shortage, a catastrophic event leaves those in the Landale camps reeling. Just when things couldn’t get much worse, camp members fall ill with the same devastating sickness that’s sweeping across the country.

Determined to gain the cure, Jace sets off to Valcré. However, there are only two sources—the queen, or a powerful gang of smugglers who have made the dangerous city their home. When Jace gains audience with the gang leader, he finds the price of the cure is steeper than any of them imagined, forcing him to make an impossible choice—betray his conscience or let those he loves die.

Available now on Amazon!

goodreads
My Review of Bitter Winter
This book is so amazing! As all of Jaye’s books are. This one especially brings the reader through a whole range of emotions. It starts out with plenty of awwww moments, then turns heart-wrenching, then tense and nail-biting. Yet the ending makes all the tension worth it with plenty for fangirls to squeal over! I loved the ending so much, though I’m bracing myself for what is going to happen to my poor, favorite characters in the next book!

Lacy

About Lacy

The last thing Aaron ever envisioned was falling for a prostitute. Everything about it spells trouble. However, he can’t help noticing the way her smile lights up when she sees him and how much brokenness she hides behind it. Neither can he ignore how desperately she needs rescue and protection.

When Lacy shares a life or death secret with him, Aaron is willing to risk everything to help her and to show her Elôm’s love. Yet, such a choice could destroy his reputation and maybe even cost him his freedom.

An Ilyon Chronicles Novella

Available now on Amazon!

goodreads
My Review of Lacy
This book as an unexpected surprise. I’ve always loved Aaron, but this book made me love him all the more. He is such a sweet and strong character, and that really comes through in this book! Although Jace (*cough* my favorite character *cough*) isn’t in this one, I still really enjoyed it.
I would recommend this book for older readers since it does deal with prostitution, but the topic is handled really well, as I would expect from Jaye L. Knight.

Haven’t discovered the world of Ilyon yet? Find out more at the official Ilyon Chronicles website!

About the Author

JayeLKnight Author PhotoJaye L. Knight is an award-winning author, homeschool graduate, and shameless tea addict with a passion for Christian fantasy. Armed with an active imagination and love for adventure, Jaye weaves stories of truth, faith, and courage with the message that even in the deepest darkness, God’s love shines as a light to offer hope. She has been penning stories since the age of eight and resides in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.

You can connect with Jaye on her website, blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Etsy.

 

Giveaway!

PaperbackGiveaway

Share in the excitement of the release and enter to win a full signed set of the Ilyon Chronicles and The Blades of Acktar!  (Giveaway is open to US residents only. Cannot be shipped internationally.) Click on this link to enter.

Don’t forget to stop by each of the character chats for additional giveaways throughout the tour!

Ilyon and Acktar Blog Tour Sign Up

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I’m going to keep this short and sweet. The sign up for reviewers and the blog tour for Decree (by me) and Bitter Winter and Lacy (by Jaye L. Knight) is now open! You only have until November 23 to sign up for the blog tour, so don’t wait!

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A few other reminders first:

  • All of the books are available for Kindle Preorder! You can preorder here: Decree, Bitter Winter, Lacy.
  • Also, as part of the blog tour, Jaye L. Knight and I are going to be holding character Q&A chats with the combined cast of Ilyon and Acktar on our blogs. If you have a question you’d like to submit for that, you can go here to do so.
  • Finally, all of The Blades of Acktar books are going to be on sale on Kindle for Black Friday and I’ll be running a sale on the paperback books on my website, so please make sure you stop back here on Black Friday or Cyber Monday if you’re interested in those deals.

Now on to the blog tour sign up sheet!

Please use this form if you want to be reviewer or part of the blog tour. Reviewers do not need to have a blog.

Thanks so much in advance for your willingness to post about our books and to spread the word on the Internet! It means so much to see your excitement!

More Release Announcements

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If you follow my blog, then you already know that Decree (The Blades of Acktar #5) releases in less than two months!

*cue me panic screaming*

Twitter Header Decree

In all seriousness, it has been coming along well and the feedback I’ve been getting from beta-readers is positive, so that’s exciting!

I’m working on putting together some sort of giveaway for those who preorder Decree or buy it on the release date (since Amazon still won’t let indie authors set up a preorder for paperbacks) so keep a look out for that.

Preorder Decree

In the meantime, keep a look out for more release announcements. They are going to be coming fast and furious over the next month or so.

But Wait There's More Billy May

Many of you are also fans of Jaye L. Knight, and she just announced today that her next books Bitter Winter (The Ilyon Chronicles book #5) and Lacy (a companion novella) are going to be releasing December 14. That is four days before Decree releases!

Since we also happen to be good friends, we decided it would be awesome to do one massively epic co-release! As part of the blog tour, we’re going to be doing Q&A chats with both the characters from Ilyon and Acktar. TOGETHER. Able to talk to each other. In one virtual “room.”

Did I mention this blog tour is going to be epic?

But we need your help. Please submit your burning questions in the form below for the Ilyon and Acktar characters.

There will be more information and the sign up form for the actual blog tour and book reviewers in the next few weeks, so please watch for that.

Thanks so much for being such amazing, loyal fans!

Samara’s Peril Review & Interview

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BlogTour-SPBanner

In case you live in a hole like a hobbit and haven’t gotten the word yet that Samara’s Peril (Ilyon Chronicles book 3) released 6 days ago, it’s here. *fangirl screams go off in the background* I’m so excited! I’ve been waiting for this book for over a year!

Anyway, I probably should tell you a little about it, in case you missed seeing it plastered all over the rest of the blog tour (links for all the posts in the tour can be found here).

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About the Book

When news arrives that Emperor Daican has been in contact with his chief war strategist, it signals potential doom for the country of Samara. Determined to intervene, the resistance in Landale, headed by Lady Anne, embark on a covert mission in hopes of unearthing further information. However, a shocking discovery leads to complications no one could have foreseen.

Armed with their newfound knowledge, they set out for Samara to warn the king. War is inevitable, and they must face two desperate battles—one on the walls of Samara’s great stronghold, and the other on the battlefield of Jace’s heart, where victory might only be achievable through great sacrifice.

 

Available now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iBooks!

Add to Goodreads

Haven’t discovered the world of Ilyon yet? Find out more at the official Ilyon Chronicles website!

My thoughts

It’s the Ilyon Chronicles! Of course I spent most of this book as a puddle of fangirl mushiness!

The beginning of this book was my favorite. I loved seeing the whole Altair clan together. Minus one important character. *sniff* I still can’t read that part in The King’s Scrolls without bawling. I guessed the big reveal in the beginning of this book before it happened, but that didn’t stop me from squealing and walking around with a dazed grin on my face for hours afterwards.

There are some darker themes in the book, such as abusive marriage, a past rape, and a young man following in the abusive ways of his father. It is all handled very well, and highlights the manner a Christian deals with the consequences of those things rather than focusing too much on the darkness itself.

And just saying, Rothas has to die. Somehow. Once you read the book, you’ll understand.

This is a book that definitely has a switch in plotline and tone partway through. The two halves work together, but I’ll admit, I didn’t love the second half nearly as much as the first. It was still really, really good, and the twist at the end totally caught me off guard.

And one certain romance-y part at the end. *swoony sigh* Yes, I love impulsive kisses in books. Especially when it is two characters that I’ve been waiting forever for them to wake up and realize they liked each other.

This book also brings in the Christian parallels more distinctly than some of the other books. It is written more like Biblical fiction than allegory in some parts. It was handled very well, but it wasn’t my favorite part of the book. Probably because Biblical fiction isn’t my thing. So that is personal preference on my part.

Once again, this book delivers the emotional impact, hug-worthy and awesome characters, and adventure I’ve come to expect when I dive into the Ilyon Chronicles.

When does book 4 release? Please?

JayeAuthorPhoto

About the Author

Jaye L. Knight is an award-winning author, homeschool graduate, and shameless tea addict with a passion for Christian fantasy. Armed with an active imagination and love for adventure, Jaye weaves stories of truth, faith, and courage with the message that even in the deepest darkness, God’s love shines as a light to offer hope. She has been penning stories since the age of eight and resides in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.

You can connect with Jaye on her website, blog, Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and Etsy.

Jaye will also be joining me during the Facebook party to celebrate Defy‘s release on June 2.

Interview with the Author

Hi, Jaye! Welcome back to my blog! I think this is the third time I’ve interviewed you here. 🙂

  1. Samara’s Peril is such a pivotal book for the series. A lot of things happen both plot-wise and character-wise (Jayrin!). Was it a hard or easy book to write? Edit?

I wouldn’t say any of my books are easy to write, but Samara’s Peril was one of the easier ones. Editing, on the other hand, not so much. It took a lot of time and effort, probably because it is such a pivotal book, and I wanted to get the emotions just right.

Well, I think you succeeded! All of your books tend to have such emotional impact!

  1. Portraying Christ in fiction is a tricky thing to do, and not everyone agrees on the approach. How did you go about writing Elon in Samara’s Peril?

Definitely tricky. It’s never something I’ve set out wanting to do. More like called to do. It’s hard to feel qualified to attempt such a thing. Basically I went about it with a lot of prayer. The one thing I always focus on when attempting to portray Christ is Jesus’s love. That was an especially big part of this story. I know some readers will wish I had added more scenes with Elon, but everything major in this book is approached from Jace’s point of view. Jace longs for a relationship with Elon, but is afraid. One of the biggest questions I asked myself was how we would feel if we found ourselves in Jesus’s presence and were as keenly aware of our sins and shortcomings as Jace is. Questions like that are what shaped how I wrote Samara’s Peril.

That makes sense! I’m glad you didn’t add more scenes with Elon. I liked the way it was handled.

  1. You now have 12 books out between your two pennames. Twelve! What is the biggest thing you learned through writing and publishing all those books? Any things you’ve learned about writing recently?

I think the biggest thing is just the growth in the actual writing. The books I wrote as Molly Evangeline really needed more work. However, I had to start somewhere, and publishing those books taught me so much about the publishing process that I was able to use when starting over as Jaye L. Knight. I can’t think of anything specific just recently except that I really should give myself more time to get things ready before I publish. 😉 My schedule got kind of crazy this time and there was a little panic involved before this release. More so than usual.

*sigh* Don’t we all struggle with that? The panic before publication? And there’s never enough time. Never.

  1. Are there any specific places that influenced the setting of Ilyon?

I pick little bits of inspiration from a variety of places. Usually it’s a picture here and a picture there that I come across. Nowhere that I’ve been to or wanted to visit personally. Probably the biggest influence for a setting in Ilyon is Ancient Rome. That is really what I based the country of Arcacia on even though it has more of a medieval feel to it.

I love the mix of Ancient Rome and medieval in Ilyon! And the other cultures like the cretes.

  1. Your characters do a lot of travelling. Do you like to travel? What is your favorite trip you’ve ever taken or favorite place you’ve ever visited?

I do love to travel. I have so many places I would love to visit (the Rocky Mountains, the East Coast, England, the Caribbean), but, unfortunately, I can’t afford those kinds of trips on my author income. Someday I hope to though. I think my favorite trip memories are from day trips with my family. We did a lot of fun day trips when I was young, and now my brother and I do a lot of that as well. One of these days, we’re going to plan a more exciting and adventurous road trip.

What? Michigan’s not on that list? 😛

Thanks for stopping by once again! Can’t wait to chat with you again at Defy‘s Facebook party in a couple of weeks!

Giveaway

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Share in the excitement of the release and enter to win a themed giveaway pack! Prizes include an autographed copy of Samara’s Peril, a John 3:16 necklace by FaithWearDesigns, and a green wire dragon bookmark by Wirelings! (Giveaway is open to US residents only. Cannot be shipped internationally.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Fun Fiction Friday – Makilien Trilogy

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It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these Fun Fiction Friday pieces. Not that I haven’t been reading good books. Summer vacations and working on Deny keep taking precedence.

Speaking of vacations, this is a scheduled post since I’m gone this weekend. I’ll reply to any comments when I return.

I’m a late comer to The Ilyon Chronicles fandom. I didn’t read Resistance until a few months before The King’s Scrolls released. Recently, I made time to read Jaye L. Knight’s earlier works that she wrote under the pen name Molly Evangeline.

The Makilien Trilogy – Molly Evangeline

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The Makilien Trilogy follows the adventures of a girl named Makilien and her band of friends. This series shows the influence of The Lord of the Rings even more than The Ilyon Chronicles do. I could tell these books were written earlier. The characters are less-fleshed out. The writing less experienced.

Did that make the books less epic? No way! I absolutely adored them!

I had a big deadline in editing Deny that I had to hit, and I was busy preparing for a weeklong vacation. I still ended up reading the entire series in a week (I didn’t get a whole lot of sleep).

Overall, I’d definitely recommend these books to anyone looking for action-packed Christian fantasy.

My thoughts on the individual books:

Book 1 – Truth

PictureI was drawn into the storyline almost immediately. I felt for Makilien as she tried to discover the truth in a city determined to hide it. I love how Makilien grows throughout the book, and her decision at the end.

The elves? Need I say more? These are everything you think of about elves: tall, graceful, live in the woods. But with a sense of humor. Lots of humor.

I enjoyed the adventure of this book. It’s a straight forward good-vs-evil, epic battle, adventure story with Christian themes weaved into it.

Book 2 – Courage

PictureSome of this book follows the same pattern as book one. It starts in the same town. Moves through the same places, and ends with a big battle in the same place as before.

Still, I enjoyed how this book took the same battles of book one and went one step deeper. In Truth, Makilien faced the final battle with the innocence of one who has never fought before. This time, she fights with the knowledge of just how scary and horrible war is. It makes for an interesting parallel that I couldn’t put down.

And the ending? Let’s just say, you’d better just buy books 2 and 3 together because you will be starting book 3 mere seconds after finishing book 2.

Book 3 – Trust

Picture   Of the three, this book was my favorite. It has a different storyline than the first two and kept me guessing. While the battle might be smaller, the challenges are tougher for the main characters.

And Sirion? *sigh* I’d already loved him in the earlier books, but I absolutely adored him in this one.

A few of the character storylines might have wrapped up a little too neatly, but I honestly didn’t care while I was reading. I wanted everyone to get their happy ending, and the ending of this book definitely delivers. 🙂

Short Story – Captivated

PictureThis short story was totally worth it to get a final glimpse of my favorite characters one last time, especially the elf Elmorhirian. I couldn’t stop laughing the entire way through this story, and I read it twice in as many days because I loved it so much.

Have you read the Makilien Trilogy yet? Thoughts?

Half Blood Blog Tour

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I have been beyond excited the moment I heard Jaye L. Knight was going to be releasing a prequel novella to the Ilyon Chronicles. When she called for participants for a blog tour, I just about tripped over my laptop in my rush to sign up. After all, I was going to go all fan-girl over this book anyways, so I might as well do it as part of the official blog tour, right? 😉

The day has finally arrived, and Half Blood has been out for three whole days already! *squeal*

My Recommendation

Read the book. Seriously. Though, if you’ve already read Resistance and The King’s Scrolls, then you were probably sitting on your porch waiting for UPS to deliver your copy long before this blog post was written (or you got really impatient and went straight to the kindle version!). If you haven’t read any of the Ilyon Chronicles yet, then go do it. Right now. I’ll wait until you get back.

Half Blood has more violence and more intense scenes than Resistance and The King’s Scrolls, though even the tear-jerking scene in this book can’t compare with the heart-destroying scene in The King’s Scrolls. The violence is not gratuitous, and Jaye dwells more on its effects on Jace than on what is physically happening. While reading it, I sometimes got the sense that Jace didn’t want to dwell on or see what was happening or what he was doing, and thus the reader didn’t either. It was a technique that worked really well for showing how Jace clung to his humanity even when everyone else was doing their best to strip him of it.

The hardest part in this book is when Jace fears they may succeed.

Since this is a novella, the book is much, much shorter than Resistance or The King’s Scrolls. While I probably would’ve kept reading had this novella been a tome, I think the shorter length worked for this book. Too much more details of the violence would’ve been overwhelming, and too much of the hope and happiness at the end would’ve dragged and taken away from the beginning of Resistance.

I’d recommend reading this book after reading Resistance. Half Blood is a book written to satisfy the curiosity of fans and deepen their knowledge of one of the characters, and doesn’t serve as the sweeping introduction to the world of Ilyon the way that Resistance does.

*I was given an ARC copy of this book by the author in exchange for my honest review*

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About the Book

The gasps and murmuring grew. Though some were hardly more than whispers, clear words reached Jace’s ears—dangerous, monster, animal, soulless. He tried to back away from their accusing eyes, but the collar pulled hard against his throat and held him in place.

For all his years as a slave, Jace has known nothing but the hatred people hold for his mixed blood—one half human, the other half the blood of a race considered monsters. Always, he is the outsider and quickly learns it is better to keep to himself. But, when his volatile ryrik blood leads him to do the unthinkable, he is thrown into a world of violence and bloodshed.

Forced to become a gladiator, Jace finds more and more of his heart dying as his master works to break down his will not to become the monster everyone believes he is. When a stranger interferes with his master’s harsh punishment, Jace’s world is upended yet again. But with it comes the possibility of hope that has long since died. Could the man possibly hold the key to escaping the hopeless darkness that is Jace’s life? Is there such a thing as life beyond the cruelty of slavery?

See where Jace’s story all began . . .

Available on Amazon!

amazon-buy

goodreads

 Discover Ilyon in Resistance and The King’s Scrolls (if you haven’t already joined the awesomeness!)

IlyonChronicles

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About the Author

Jaye L. Knight is an award-winning author, homeschool graduate, and shameless tea addict with a passion for Christian fantasy. Armed with an active imagination and love for adventure, Jaye weaves stories of truth, faith, and courage with the message that even in the deepest darkness, God’s love shines as a light to offer hope. She has been penning stories since the age of eight and resides in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.

You can connect with Jaye on her website, blog, Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Etsy, and on her new fiction forum where you can interact with other readers of the series.

Author Interview

In reading through the blog tour so far, I’ve realized everyone asked you this question, but here it is again: Half Blood is a tough book to read (though I enjoyed it. I might have a strange fascination with reading about main characters suffering). Was it tough to write? What was the hardest part?

I wouldn’t say it was overly tough to write. Perhaps that’s because I’ve known all along what kind life Jace lived, so it wasn’t new to me. The hardest part was probably making sure it all fit together and that the timeline of the story was accurate. I started this story at so many different points, and just kept going back further and further into Jace’s life, so in the end, I had to sort of connect the dots. I got a bit confusing at times, but I sorted it out. Suffering really shapes and defines characters, so while it’s a tough story, I’m glad to be able to share what shaped Jace to be who he is in the series.

I can imagine how difficult it must have been to fit it in with all the pieces of Jace’s backstory you’d already mentioned, and the ones you have planned for Samara’s Peril.

What’s your favorite part of the writing/publishing process? Drafting? Editing? Designing the cover (which turned out gorgeous, by the way)?

I have things I like about the entire process, but I’d have to say editing is my favorite part. On days where my imagination is really flowing, I LOVE writing, but most of the time editing and perfecting the story is easier and more enjoyable for me. I like knowing I have the whole story down on the computer. Blank pages and giant word goals are far too intimidating sometimes. I also do love designing covers, though I think with future books after Ilyon Chronicles, I will hand those reins over to someone else.

Writing and editing are tons of fun…when they are working right!

Now for my favorite question: If you could trade places with one of your characters for a day, which character and what day would you pick?

I think I’d probably trade places with Kyrin on one of the fun hunting days with Jace. After all, I’d love to hang out with him and meet the others out at camp. 🙂

That’s the same day and same person I’d pick to trade places with if I could hang out in Ilyon for a day! Though, I’d hate to think what poor Kyrin would think having to be me for a day, stuck in an office at a computer instead of traipsing around the forest with Jace. I’d definitely be getting the better end of that deal! 😉

Thanks so much for the interview, Jace, and best wishes on the release of Half Blood!

Giveaway

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Share in the excitement of the release and enter to win a themed giveaway pack! Prizes include an autographed copy of Half-Blood, a blue feather bookmark hand crafted by Jaye, a bronze sword pendant, and a $5 Amazon gift card! (Giveaway is open to US residents only. Cannot be shipped internationally.)
Please click this link to enter the giveaway: a Rafflecopter giveaway

For more about Half Blood and more interviews with Jaye, check out the rest of the blog tour for Half Blood:

Schedule

Tuesday, July 14

Wednesday, July 15

Thursday, July 16

Friday, July 17 

Saturday, July 18 

Sunday, July 19 

Monday, July 20 

Tuesday, July 21 

Wednesday, July 22 

Cover Reveal – Half Blood

triciamingerink4 Comments

Instead of my Fiction Friday book spotlight, I have another cover reveal for you all. I’m super excited to reveal the cover for Jaye L. Knight’s novella Half Blood. I’m a huge Ilyon Chronicles fan, and I can’t wait until this prequel novella releases!

Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000040_00026]

About the Book

The gasps and murmuring grew. Though some were hardly more than whispers, clear words reached Jace’s ears—dangerous, monster, animal, soulless. He tried to back away from their accusing eyes, but the collar pulled hard against his throat and held him in place.

For all his years as a slave, Jace has known nothing but the hatred people hold for his mixed blood—one half human, the other half the blood of a race considered monsters. Always, he is the outsider and quickly learns it is better to keep to himself. But, when his volatile ryrik blood leads him to do the unthinkable, he is thrown into a world of violence and bloodshed.

Forced to become a gladiator, Jace finds more and more of his heart dying as his master works to break down his will not to become the monster everyone believes he is. When a stranger interferes with his master’s harsh punishment, Jace’s world is upended yet again. But with it comes the possibility of hope that has long since died. Could the man possibly hold the key to escaping the hopeless darkness that is Jace’s life? Is there such a thing as life beyond the cruelty of slavery?

See where Jace’s story all began . . .

Coming This Summer

goodreads

JayeAuthorPhoto

About the Author

Jaye L. Knight is an award-winning author, homeschool graduate, and shameless tea addict with a passion for Christian fantasy. Armed with an active imagination and love for adventure, Jaye weaves stories of truth, faith, and courage with the message that even in the deepest darkness, God’s love shines as a light to offer hope. She has been penning stories since the age of eight and resides in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.

You can connect with Jaye on her website, blog, Facebook, Google+, and Twitter.

I don’t know about you, but I’m bouncing with anticipation for this book! Jace is my favorite character in the Ilyon Chronicles, and I’ve been dying to learn more about his backstory!

Giveaway

As part of a month long celebration for the one year publication anniversary of Resistance (Ilyon Chronicles – Book 1), Jaye is giving away several fun prizes! Enter for a chance to win using the form below! U.S. entries only please. a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you want to visit the other spots on the cover reveal, here’s a list of all the participating bloggers:

Participating Bloggers

A Writer’s Faith

Morgan Elizabeth Huneke

A Writer’s Heart

Thoughts and Rants

Written Rest

To Be A Person

Tialla’s Tellings

The American Anglophile

Knitted By God’s Plan

Elvish Pens, Fantastical Writings

Pencils Can Change The World

Crafty Booksheeps

Zerina Blossom’s Books

Ryebrynn’s Random Ramblings

Through the Realm of Dreams

Red Lettering

Leah’s Bookshelf

The Official Website of Brent King

Writings, Ramblings, and Reflections

Shattered Fractals

Flights from the Aerie

Rawls

The Pen of a Ready Writer

Scattered Journal Pages

Sutori no Hana

The Art of Storytelling

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