It is with the greatest
of pleasure that I welcome Young Adult Fantasy author, Amy Bearce, onto the blog today. Amy’s ‘World of Aluvia’ is a must
read series and one that I have given 5* reviews to. Amy is going to share with us her inspiration
behind her fabulous series. I can’t wait…!
About the series
The World of Aluvia
series is a trilogy best suited for ages 11-14 and up.
The world of Aluvia is a place of magic,
but it’s a broken, dark world where magical creatures are suffering, and the
land itself begins to shake apart. When the fairy queens disappear and their
little fairies die, it marks the beginning of a long journey for three girls
who seek to heal their world.
Sierra hates her calling as a fairy keeper, but is compelled to travel to
the dangerous wilderness to find the lost queens. (Book One, Fairy Keeper)
Phoebe must help the gentle merfolk reclaim
their magic once more—by first discovering her own. (Book Two, Mer-Charmer)
And Nell must hold the line when a new enemy
arrives who wants to return Aluvia to the days when humans held all the power,
risking the very magic they’ve worked so hard to restore. (Book Three, Dragon Redeemer)
Let’s take a closer look at
Book 3 in the series
Dragon Redeemer
Four years have passed since a fairy swarm released the
voice of prophecy in Nell Brennan. In that painful moment, a skilled warrior
became a reluctant leader and defender of Aluvia’s magic. Now a new enemy
threatens their still-fragile lands, one Nell feels powerless to stop even with
help from the voice within her.
A mysterious dark alchemist from the Ice-Locked Lands is
rising to power on the strength of his sword arm and an ice-breathing
dragon obedient to his command. He promises unlimited magic to his followers
and death to those who defy him. If he takes over the ports, his
corrupt elixirs will disrupt the delicate balance of peace between Aluvia's
people and all magical creatures.
The voice of prophecy sends Nell and her friends to
their enemy’s treacherous domain to find a sword of legend. Only the sword’s
magic can prevent a return to a world of dying fairies and caged merfolk. But
Nell’s up against the toughest foe she’s ever faced. In order to defeat him,
she must master the unimaginable power
of the sword―and the unwanted magic inside herself.
Author’s Inspiration
Unlike some of my ideas,
I can trace the origin of Fairy Keeper,
which is the first book in my series. I had been reading about Colony Collapse Disorder
(CCD). For those unfamiliar with that term, CCD is
when all the worker bees of a hive swarm off and disappear for no known reason,
leaving the queen and her brood (the young) behind to eventually die. Entire bee colonies were vanishing, and
scientists and farmers were struggling to determine the reason.
 |
| At least one third of the world’s crops depend on pollinators like bees. |
I found this alarming,
but also fascinating. One of my favorite
questions as a writer is “What if?” So I asked the question, “What if, instead
of bees, little insect-like fairies were going missing and dying? And like with
bees, what if these little fairies would have a huge impact on their world if
they disappeared forever?” It occurred to me that the people in that world
might not even know how valuable fairies were—until they were gone.
My entire series began
with a single scene that popped in my head, in which a girl named Sierra
approaches her fairies to collect their magical nectar. She senses something is
wrong when she doesn’t hear their usual thrumming sound. When she races to the meadow where they live,
she sees the little ones dead on the ground and her fairy queen missing. Though Sierra is immediately shocked at the
devastation, she doesn’t know yet just how bad this is for their world.
This scene played like a
movie in my mind, and the rest of the story developed from there. I actually
didn’t set out to create a story about the importance of conserving our natural
resources, though this theme definitely shines through. J I just wanted to tell a story about a strong
girl in a difficult set of circumstances, and her determination to change the
situation she faces.
The other books came from
this initial premise of healing a broken world. While I had not originally intended to write a
trilogy, I wanted to tell Phoebe’s story with Tristan and the merfolk, which is
hinted at in book 1. Additionally, there were some things that happen to a
character named Nell in book 1 that readers wanted to know more about. Though she began as an antagonist, she turned
out to be a favorite character among many of my readers as she developed. So I
asked myself... four years later, what would be happening among the population
of Aluvia? What would Nell be facing in her position? If people have been
sacrificing easy access to magic for a while, in an effort to protect magical
creatures, might they forget just how bad life had gotten four years ago? Would
they begin to resent the new rules? Humans have short memories sometimes, it
seems to me. The storylines for Mer-Charmer
and Dragon Redeemer were born
shortly before Fairy Keeper came out
in 2015.
Fairies and merfolk were
clearly set in the first two books by the problem of book 1 and the supporting
characters introduced. But for book 3, I
toyed with a number of magical creatures to highlight. I chose dragons for book
3 because Nell is a fierce warrior, and I wanted an equivalently strong magical
creature for her. And I have always
wanted to write about dragons! I’ve loved fantasy all my life, so it’s really
not surprising that my stories always end up with magic in them somehow.
Generally speaking, my
inspiration often comes from real life, be it a scientific discovery or an
actual place I’ve visited. We’ve done a lot of travel over the last few years
because we were living overseas, and two manuscripts that I’m currently working
on came from our travels. One is set in
contemporary Paris and one is in Rome, both with elements of magic. I read a
lot of articles, watch documentaries, and listen to Ted Talks and educational
podcasts. I often find that an interesting idea or event combined with a “What
if” twist makes for a fun story premise.
That’s certainly how the
World of Aluvia series came to be.
Links for Purchase
About the author
Amy
writes fantasy for tweens and teens. She is a former reading and English
teacher with a Masters in Library Science. Prior to writing novels,
she spent ten years writing short stories, articles, and poetry for state
standardized reading tests on a freelance basis.
As
an Army kid, she moved eight times before she was eighteen, so she feels
especially fortunate to be married to her high school sweetheart. Together
they’re raising two daughters in Texas. A perfect day for Amy involves rain
pattering on the windows, popcorn, and every member of her family curled up in
one cozy room reading a good book.
Useful links
Thank you so much for inviting me to share on your blog! I enjoyed it very much. And thank you for reading The World of Aluvia series!
ReplyDeleteIt is an absolute pleasure to learn about your inspirations behind your fabulous series! I LOVE your books!!
ReplyDelete