Today’s special guest author is Jane McGarry. She’s chatting with me about her new young adult fantasy, A Prophecy of Wings.
During her virtual book tour, Jane will be awarding 2 winners with an autographed copy of the book.
Bio:
Reading was always a big part of Jane’s life. Creating her own stories developed out of this love. To date she has published the Not Every Girl trilogy, a YA Fantasy Adventure. Her latest novel, A Prophecy of Wings, is a retelling of the classic fairy tale, Thumbelina. She lives in New Jersey with my husband, two sons and two extremely spoiled cats. When she is not running around with her family or writing, she can be found curled up with a good book and said cats.
Please tell us about your current release.
The book is a Young Adult Fantasy retelling with an ending twist. The main character, Lina, finds herself heir to a lost throne and hunted by an evil queen with the fate of a kingdom at stake. The novel is loosely based on Thumbelina by Hans Christian Andersen and examines the ideas of predestined fates and the subsequent, sometimes unforeseen, consequences.
What inspired you to write this book? I remember taking a copy of Thumbelina out of the library over and over when I was little. On the cover, the tiny girl was sitting inside a flower and it simply fascinated me. Though I loved the story, the ending never quite satisfied me so I decided to do my own take on it.
Excerpt from A Prophecy of Wings:
Prolog:
The pains came more frequently now. Even with the help of Edwina, it was difficult to run. In the cramped darkness of the tunnel, she tried to maintain her footing, an all but impossible task with the burgeoning weight of her belly. Time was of the essence. They must not be caught. But the spasms were near to unbearable.
“I can’t go on,” she gasped, a sharp pang taking her breath away.
“Just a little bit further, Your Highness,” the enchantress coaxed.
Every step down the seemingly endless passageway was sheer torment. Queen Ivy willed herself to continue. She was the last hope for her people. She must not fail.
Edwina stopped so abruptly, the queen stumbled into her back. The enchantress pulled the debilitated monarch through a narrow gap in the wall. They crossed the threshold of a doorway into the depths underneath the forest. A tangle of tree roots filled the cavern, their sinuous forms dwarfing the fairies. A robust scent infused the air with bark, stone and earth. Queen Ivy, a Volant used to the skies, reeled at the unfamiliar smells and fell to her knees.
The enchantress, more experienced with Groundling habitats, remained unaffected and surveyed the area. She assisted the queen to a nook hidden between the sides of two large tree roots, which soared overhead out of sight to meet the trunk of the tree somewhere way above.
“Wait here,” she instructed, a moot directive to her incapacitated companion.
While Edwina disappeared the way they came, Ivy settled her awkward frame down. She wondered how it had come to this. The past few months had turned her world upside down. To be hunted by one’s own sister was horrifying enough, but to know her baby was targeted for death rocked her to her very core. Instinctively, her hand flew to her stomach, the muscles again tightening with the tremors of labor.
Her friend returned, hair disheveled, wings drooping. “As far as I can tell, we may have lost them in the maze of tunnels. I have used some cloaking measures along the way and put a spell on the door to keep others out. But your sister’s powers are strong. If she were to find us…”
“She will find us. It is only a matter of time,” the queen declared. Dahlia was learned enough in dark magic to track even a covered trail.
“Well, it is time for this baby, so here will have to do.”
Queen Ivy sighed heavily. When she found out she was with child so many months ago, she had not envisioned giving birth in a dark hole underground. The enchantress spread a blanket on the earth for the queen to lie on. She checked the progress of the baby and nodded.
“She is ready. You need to push.”
Above all, the baby must survive. Without her, the prophecy would remain unfulfilled and the kingdom would never be restored. The monarch braced herself against one of the roots, its surface surprisingly warm and smooth. Under the calm direction of her lifelong friend, she delivered the child.
Edwina laid the baby girl into her arms. Ivy admired the feathery blond hair and the round little nose. Tears welled in her eyes at the sheer perfection of the infant. The enchantress finished tending to the mother and turned her attention to the child. After a quick examination, she ripped a length of fabric off of Ivy’s skirt to wrap her. “You could not have asked for a healthier daughter. Now what shall her name be?”
“Her name?” the queen pondered. “I’d not thought of one. All I have thought of is her safety.”
Before Edwina responded, they heard it—the rattle of armor. Soldier’s footsteps approached, their faint clinking unmistakable. Both women froze in terror.
“She found us,” Ivy whispered in dread, her arms tightening around the baby.
“Perhaps not. Perhaps it is King Theros on his way to tell us he defeated Dahlia.”
The footsteps grew louder.
“No,” the queen affirmed. “It is my sister. I feel her presence. You must take the baby to the other world and keep her safe until the time is right. Dahlia cannot follow you there.”
The soldier’s armor rang loudly in their ears. They came to a halt right outside the doorway.
“Come then,” the enchantress conceded, holding out a hand to help her friend rise.
“No. I must stay and try to defeat her. Take her.” She thrust the infant into Edwina’s arms. “Go now.”
Loud hammering filled the air with the enemy’s attempt to break the door down.
“But my queen, she will show you no mercy. I will not leave you here to die.”
Queen Ivy leaned forward and placed her hands on her friend’s which cradle the child. She slipped the amulet inside the swaddling. “Yes, Edwina, you must. I command it. Take her now. Keep her safe.”
The enchantress desperately tried to think of another way. Axes and spears crashed upon the door, weakening her spell with every stroke. Sadly, she stepped back and conjured the words to transport her between the worlds, a power only she in the kingdom possessed.
The new mother watched the toss of the seeds and the whispered spell. A cloud of dust encircled her friend and her baby. Too weak to even stand, she blinked through her tears. Just before the two vanished, she said, “Lina. I want her name to be Lina.”
Edwina nodded, the final wish heard. With a poof, they were gone.
The door finally gave way, a multitude of soldiers pouring in, their armor dark as night. Queen Ivy turned to see her sister step through the broken threshold. Dahlia scrutinized the scene, the deflated belly of the queen, the cloud of dust on the ground. Her eyes narrowed in malice. The baby was beyond her reach…for now. She met Ivy’s eyes and despised the look of triumph in them.
“Kill her,” she ordered.
The queen had time to whisper one last anguished prayer for her daughter before an arrow pierced her heart.
What exciting story are you working on next?
My next work is another retelling of the lesser-known Italian fairy tale, Biancabella and the Snake. I stumbled upon it a while back and felt a strong connection to the story. I am also working on a Greek mythology retelling. Stay tuned for more details.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
When I published my first book Not Every Girl, I finally considered myself a writer. I would encourage all aspiring authors to not wait that long. If you are writing anything, even if it is only for your own enjoyment, you are a writer.
Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
My goal is to become a full-time writer, but at the moment, raising my two boys takes up the bulk of my time. I fit in writing and marketing whenever I have a free minute. Luckily as they become older, writing time is easier to find.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I like to freehand write my manuscripts in notebooks before typing them into a computer. This makes me feel like a dinosaur sometimes, like I should be more tech savvy with my writing. For some reason, writing with a pen and paper makes my creative juices flow more freely. My first round of edits occurs when I finally type the work into a computer.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
When I was young, I wanted to be a singer when I grew up. I still love to sing and my family is treated to a mini-concert every time I clean.
Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
I like to write strong female protagonists with enough self-doubt to resonate as authentic with readers. My Not Every Girl trilogy has a heroine, Olivia, who is brash right from the start. Lina from A Prophecy of Wings needs time to develop her strength over the course of the story. My aim is to create characters young adult readers can see part of themselves in and provide a feeling of connectedness with the world.
Links:
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