mentor texts

  • Book Talk: The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee

    The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee Katherine Tegen Books, October 2018 Genre: YA, Historical Fiction, Historical Fantasy A year after an accidentally whirlwind grand tour with her brother Monty, Felicity Montague has returned to England with… Continue reading

    Book Talk: The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee
  • Book Review: Invictus by Ryan Graudin

    Invictus by Ryan Graudin Little, Brown, September 2017 Genre: YA, Historical Fiction, Historical Fantasy (Time Travel) Farway Gaius McCarthy was born outside of time. The son of a time traveler from 2354 AD and a gladiator living in ancient Rome, Far’s… Continue reading

    Book Review: Invictus by Ryan Graudin
  • Lessons in Fantasy World-Building: Creating the Magical World

    In September I wrote about Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn book, The Final Empire, and what it taught me about introducing a complex magic system in fiction. Today I want to examine how Sanderson builds his fantasy world. When you’re devising a fantasy world,… Continue reading

    Lessons in Fantasy World-Building: Creating the Magical World
  • Lessons in Fantasy World-Building: Introducing the Magic

    Josh is a HUGE fantasy fan. As in, we call the books he reads “brick-a-books” (because they’re all doorstoppers). As in, he’s keeping a list of all the series he’s in the middle of (because the writers take an understandably long… Continue reading

    Lessons in Fantasy World-Building: Introducing the Magic
  • Mentor Texts: Steampunk and Alternate History

    About a month ago I posted about some of the mentor texts I’ve been reading in preparation for a YA historical fantasy I want to write. I’ve tried to read a wide range of books, as I figure out exactly how much fantasy… Continue reading

    Mentor Texts: Steampunk and Alternate History
  • Mentor Texts: Historical Fantasy

    This fall I’ve been mulling over an idea for a YA historical fantasy and doing some research (my favorite) in between working on my current WIP. I’ve also been reading a bucketload of mentor texts to help me hone my vision… Continue reading

    Mentor Texts: Historical Fantasy