The Next Big Thing Blog Hop
Thank you to John L. LeViness III for inviting me to take part in the blog hop. I have to say it’s been a lot of fun and I hope everyone enjoys my write up especially my rendition of movie characters.

What is the title of your latest book?
I have named it: Sinners of Magic and it is the first book of my ‘magic’ fantasy trilogy and book two ‘Betrayers of Magic’ should be out to buy later in the New Year.

Where did the idea come from for the book?
My idea goes a little deep… As a young child I was raised by my grandparents and when I was 15 years old I was told that the man I believed to be my father was in fact simply a man my mother married to ‘give me a name.’ As you can imagine this revelation had a huge impact on me and I searched for my  real dad for over forty six years.  
However, when I started writing my novel I thought this fantasy story was something I had just made up inside my head and I decided that my main character should be a young girl simply because it was time someone else got the limelight instead of Harry Potter. I created a child who knew she was different to other children and whose father had died before she was born.  Unbeknown to me I think my longing to have a wonderful, loving father who would have gone to the ends of the earth to keep me safe was an unconscious desire of my inner self and what
helped me to develop my story and what makes it so special.

What genre does your book fall under?
I usually place this book under the fantasy genre but there are so many sub-genres these days that I’m never sure whether it’s under the right heading or not.  However, having said that, due to the fact that the book will eventually be a trilogy I would personally put it under the heading – Epic Fantasy.                                            

What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?
Very difficult to do so I might have to cheat here – okay here goes nothing!

Crystal, born of immortal parents must find her way back to the Kingdom of Nine Winters but there are those who wish to see her dead and a Nonhawk king declares he will do everything in his power to send her to the very edge of destruction…

Is your book self-published or represented by an agency?
I am self-published. I waited 18 months while a publisher dangled the carrot under my nose until they went bankrupt and so I decided not to waste any more of my time and self-published and I’m really glad I chose the path I did now.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
I think the first rough manuscript took me about two years to put together. I never really had a plan which I know is usually disastrous but I think the story was always there in my head I just had to create amazing yet believable characters in a total fantasy world.  I joined a writer’s forum which is the best thing I ever did and they helped me shape my first few chapters with their ‘constructive criticism’ which was hard to swallow at the time but by the end of the second year I knew where I was heading and that a trilogy would eventually be born.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I don’t think I can because this story is part of me and no one else has created my story. My readers have said it reminds them of the hobbit crossed with Harry Potter while others say the can see Stephen King (Green Mile I’m guessing due to the fantasy aspect of the film) and Enid Blyton, so my work appears to come across to everyone in a very different way!

Who or what inspired you to write this book?
I have always loved writing since I was a small child and had a very vivid imagination which sometimes got me into trouble at school.  I just wanted to write a story with magic entwined within the pages and show my mum that as a child who should never have been born I could leave a mark against the world that says, I wasn’t born worthless and this is what inspired me.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
I think the way Crystal is introduced to the story is unique and when you meet the characters who are involved you will see it all boils down to how people suffer injustice and how many try to right those wrongs. The book is filled with witches and magicians, warriors and dwarves whose personalities will steal more than your heart away.  Part of this book shows you how people try to cope with the loss of a child (no matter how imaginary) and how guilt and regret destroys relationships. However, on a lighter note, there is a wood sprite with a heart bigger than any lions who suffers a high jinks attitude and never takes no for an answer, while the two elf warriors Arhdel and Amadeus have loyalty and strength that will take your breath away and show you they will never be beaten no matter what the odds are against them.

Sinners of Magic

Crystal is no ordinary sixteen year old girl. Ever since she was a small  child she’s been able to sense things, feel when danger approaches and now she’s gone one step further and saved a boy’s life by summoning a supernatural being. Little does she know it but her natural parents are powerful immortals. Secret lovers in a magical land where procreation outside of their own realms is forbidden, the Elders punish Amella and Bridgemear by banishing their new born child to the world of mere mortals. Years  pass and dark and troubled times descend upon the Elf Realm. In desperation Crystal is visited by the Elf Kings envoy, a shape-changer who tricks her into believing  that if she returns to the Kingdom of Nine Winters she will find the answers regarding her newly revealed birthright. Soon she is caught up in dangers greater than anything she could have ever imagined while those who fight at her side, battle to protect her from a wicked sorcerer gone insane and one who is willing to take her to the very edge of destruction …L E Creswell

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