The Fire Children continues its march to future classic status, and has been given a helping hand along the way by those lovely people at Starburst Magazine.
That’s right, Lauren Roy’s YA adventure has been reviewed in the latest Starburst podcast, and you can have all that lovely bookchat beamed directly into your ears by visiting the Starburst podcast page (The Fire Children appears about 10 minutes in). Enjoy!
Don’t forget you can follow Lauren Roy on Twitter!
If you’re a struggling writer, it can sometimes feel a little… hopeless.
And it’s at times like that, when you’re feeling low about your writerly ambitions, that you could do with some solid gold advice.
Well, Lauren Roy – author of The Fire Children and all-round brilliant writer-type person – has been dishing out some first rate advice over at Chuck Wendig’s Terrible Minds blog, and it’s perfect for any aspiring writers that have been overcome by their doubts.
Go get it read, it’ll help!
The Fire Children is out now!
Buy: US|UK|eBook
Take a trip into a world of fire and fantasy with Lauren Roy today as The Fire Children is released.
Lauren’s writing captures the timeless quality of all the best YA combined with thoroughly modern world building. Want to know more? Of course you do…
‘Fifteen years had passed since Mother Sun had last sent her children down from the heavens to walk the world like men. Now each day grew longer and hotter than the one before…’
The Fire Children is the story of curious youngster Yulla, who emerges from the darkness below Kaladim to explore the world of the Fire Children. There she witnesses the Witch Woman, set on a dark purpose, steal the one of the Children away. Now, with the help of Ember, last of the Fire Children, she must put a stop to the Witch Woman’s plans…
A challenging, genre-busting read in the spirit of Ursula K Le Guin’s Earthsea series, The Fire Children is a story of bravery, tradition and magic from one of the finest emerging voices in YA.
The Fire Children is out now!
Buy: US|UK|eBook
I have always lived in the Land of Make-Believe.
Not literally. I grew up in 1980s New England suburbia, where knights and dragons were few and far between. But I was a lucky kid – my parents kept me supplied with books, let me run amok in the library, and rarely vetoed the movies and TV shows I picked out. Even when, in middle school, I started picking titles from the adult fiction section in the bookstore. My mom was always worried that she’d get a call from my teachers, wondering why I had my nose in King and Koontz and McCammon, but if any of them noticed what I was reading, they never commented.
Other worlds drew me in, places where magic existed and kids had grand adventures. I wanted the loyal steed and the castle and the sword and the fairy wings, but mostly I wanted to be a hero. In school, I was the opposite – the shy, nerdy kid who stayed out of the spotlight and hoped gym class would end before I got up to bat (except when it was badminton time. I wasn’t utterly hopeless at that.)
I’m going to take a stroll through the stories that set my imagination soaring when I grew up…
My budding library had quite the collection of Little Golden Books. These are the ones I remember my parents reading to me so many times I had ‘em memorized. The one based off of Disney’s Cinderella especially. I might be able to blame this book on my susceptibility to earworms – every time my parents read the Fairy Godmother’s song aloud, I insisted the lyric wasn’t mechicka boola but magic-a-boola. Because the latter made more sense. I’m sorry for being pedantic, mom and dad.
The first fantasy stories I read on my own were the Morgan stories from Serendipity Press. It’s probably where I first got the idea that I wanted a unicorn of my own. Morgan and Yew may also be the first book that traumatized me as a kid – I don’t remember if the details of Morgan’s disappearance get spelled out, or if my imagination filled them in, but let’s just say that the Morning Star is a character. I highly doubt that I knew back then that Lucifer is also referred to as the morning star, and that almost certainly wasn’t author Stephen Cosgrove’s intention, buuuut.
When I was eight or nine, one of my cousins left a box of books at our house. It was a series of ten or twelve books, clothbound hardcovers with different colors for each volume. The pages were onionskin thin, and held the musty smell of old books. The name of the collection escapes me, but each volume was packed with poems and stories and fairytales from around the world.
I was part of the Nickelodeon generation that got to watch The Mysterious Cities of Gold and Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea. Both of these shows walk the line between science fiction and fantasy, but hey – kids chasing down the lost cities of gold, or discovering a civilization deep beneath the ground? I was riveted. Zia, the Incan girl from Mysterious Cities of Gold, was my favorite. She was smart and clever and brave, keeping a clear head when Esteban and Tao lost theirs, which was kind of often. And yes, I could probably still sing the theme song to MCOG. (Please don’t make me. It’ll be better for everyone if I don’t.)
Remember that part where I wanted a unicorn? The Last Unicorn was one of the movies I watched over and over. A wizard who’s not very good at what he does, Amalthea the unicorn-turned-woman, the Red Bull chasing them… pardon me while I go rewatch. This is another one where I had the soundtrack memorized, but that pales in comparison to the entire movie that many children of the ‘80s have hard-wired into our brains: The Princess Bride. Go up to any even slightly geeky adult you know and say, “Inconceivable!” or “Stop rhyming and I mean it!” We have an almost built-in reflex to deliver the next lines. The story has a hero in disguise, adventure, witty banter, a love story, and a story of true friendship. I didn’t know it at the time, but it taught me a lot about writing. Frame stories! Subverting expectations! Trusting your audience!
One more: Madeleine L’Engle’s A Swiftly Tilting Planet. I know this is usually considered science fiction, but it’s another that walks the line between the two for me. There’s a talking, flying unicorn who helps the main character travel through time to prevent a nuclear war. Best of both worlds! If you haven’t read L’Engle before, you’re in for a treat. Hie thee to your bookstore or library and pick up A Wrinkle in Time.
I feel a massive rewatch/reread coming on…
You can find out more about Lauren Roy and The Fire Children right here at Ravenstone – and don’t forget to follow Lauren on Twitter.
The Fire Children is out on June 18 (UK)/June 30 (US/Canada).
Pre-order now: US|UK
To celebrate the forthcoming release of Lauren Roy’s stunning YA novel The Fire Children, we’re giving away three copies of the book over on Goodreads.
If you’re a member (and if you aren’t, well, you should be!), all you need to do is head to the site and click ‘enter to win’ to be in with a chance of bagging a copy.
You can find out more about Lauren Roy and The Fire Children right here at Ravenstone – and don’t forget to follow Lauren on Twitter.
The Fire Children is out on June 18 (UK)/June 30 (US/Canada).
Pre-order now: US|UK
Eva Darrows (THE AWESOME) and Lauren Roy (The Fire Children) will be at Boskone 52, February 13th – 15th at Boston Westin Waterfront. Here’s where you can catch them and what our top picks for the weekend are:
7pm
Eva Darrows in her Hillary Monahan disguise joins Mur Lafferty (moderating), Maya Bohnhoff, Christopher Golden and Charles Stross to talk Angels Demons and Saints
Religion has always played a strong role in fantasy, and we’ve seen an influx of fiction that specifically features characters that have been touched by higher powers — especially in today’s urban fantasy. What role do these characters play within the story? How do we see these roles changing or morphing into something new? Why do we keep coming back to these types of characters? And what are some examples of stories that use these characters especially well?
Lauren Roy joins Veronica Koven-Matasy (moderating), A.C.E. Bauer and Bruce Coville for It’s Complicated: Kids and the Culture They Consume
As the lives of young adults in our ever-changing modern society become more complicated and diverse, so do their personal interests and experiences. Panelists discuss how the growing complexity of our world affects the content of young adult literature, comics, games, and film. How do the philosophical issues that impact today’s society affect how teens see themselves within the fiction they consume? What are some practical ideas for better connecting today’s children and teens with yesterday’s or tomorrow’s literature?
8pm
Lauren Roy provides the Gaming Review 2014-2015 with Bill Todd (moderating), Heather Albano, Michael Sharrow, and Brianna Spacekat Wu
What are the hot new board/card/RPG games for 2015? What’s trending? What new expansions to previously released games are out now? Let’s discuss all things related to new games.
9pm
Eva Darrows (Hillary Monahan) joins Carrie Vaughn (Moderating), Melissa Marr and Paul G. Tremblay, Jordan Hamessley for Writing for Teens VS Adults
With so much crossover, is there a difference anymore? And where does middle-grade fiction fit? Editors and authors discuss.
10:00am
It’s definitely worth getting up with the raven’s dawn chorus for this one:
Eva Darrows (Hillary Monahan), Bruce Coville (moderating), A.C.E. Bauer, Jordan Hamessley and Veronica Koven-Matasy dive to some of the best speculative children’s literature in KidLit: Great Spec Fic for Young Readers
There’s some pretty spectacular speculative fiction available for children these days. What’s behind the ongoing boom? Panelists talk causes and trends, while plugging their favorite authors and stories — including some that grownups could also learn to love.
Lauren Roy will be signing her debut Night Owls and you can pester her for sneaky spoilers for The Fire Children too
12:00pm
RAVENSTONE TOP PICK
Lauren Roy is joined by Charles Stross (moderating), Susan Jane Bigelow, Don Pizarro and Jarvis Sheffield to talk about a key issue for 2015: Finding Diverse Fiction
There is a clear desire for increased diversity within SF/F fiction and fandom. There are also a lot of emerging writers who are bringing diversity to the genre, but many of them are still flying below the publicity radar. Authors and publishers come together to share their “must read” lists and tips on where to find some of the new up-and-coming authors.
2:00pm
THE AWESOME Eva Darrows will be joining Veronica Koven-Matasy (moderating), Felicitas Ivey, Stacey Friedberg and A.J. Paquette for one of our most anticipated panels:PG-13: Violence, Sex, and Teen Readers, seriously it’s like they created this just for her:
When writing for teens or choosing books for young adults to read, is there a PG-13 line that needs to be drawn? Is there more violence and sex in YA books today? Or have we just become more aware of it? How does a writer address difficult or sensitive topics without going too far? Panelists discuss danger zones within YA fiction.
4:00pm
Eva Darrows will be signing Mary the Summoning in Hillary Monahan form. We’re sure if you ask really nicely she’ll scrawl you a quick Eva out too…
5:00pm
Lauren Roy, Chris Jackson (moderating), James Cambias and Mur Lafferty lead the discussion on Authorship, RPGs, and the Legacy of D&D
Dungeons & Dragons, the first commercially available role-playing game, was published 40 years ago. D&D ushered in a new era of cooperative storytelling that has inspired Game Masters, players, and authors to dream big and create their own fictional universes. Panelists explore the many facets of RPGs — from developing challenging and believable frameworks for cooperative story construction to taking the story beyond the game.
11:00am
Our reigning queen Eva Darrows (here present as Hillary Monahan) sets the fairytale world to right with Sarah Langan (moderating), Ingrid Kallick, Carrie Vaughn and Tom Shippey in The Fairytale Princess, Circa 2100
Before Disney appropriated Snow White, Jasmine, Aurora, and the rest of the “princess clique, ” these were characters who presumably served a deeper purpose in structuring the fables of bygone years. What parts do they play for today’s children? What meaning might these reminders of a fairytale feudal past still hold a hundred years from now?
12:00pm
Ever wanted to hear some of your favourite writers talk about how they create the worlds you want to inhabit? Lauren Roy, E. C. Ambrose (moderating), Myke Cole, Peadar Ó Guilín, and Rosemary Kirstein star in Writers on Writing: Worldbuilding from the Ground Up
Some spectacular stories take place in worlds very different from our own: from life on (or in) a gas giant to a civilization that lives on a world-tree as big as the Himalayas. But there are perils associated with venturing far beyond human experience. An inconsistent or poorly described worldscape can furnish a confusing story, or challenge a reader’s ability to suspend disbelief. Hear from writers who have created fully realized worlds that their readers can almost see, touch, and smell.
1:30pm
In a two-for-one-in-one body Eva Darrows and Hillary Monahan will be reading from THE AWESOME and Mary the Summoning
Sunday 15th @ 2:00pm
Lauren Roy will be giving an exclusive preview of The Fire Children in her lunchtime reading. EXCITING.
Head to the Boskone52 website for a full schedule and more information