Welcome to my tour stop with JustRead Publicity Tours! I'm sharing an
excerpt and giveaway today for this Middle Grade Fantasy. Check it all out below...
Woodencloak
(Band of Unlikely Heroes #1)
By Dawn Ford
Middle Grade Fantasy
Paperback & eBook, ? Pages
February 7, 2023 by Scrivenings Press
Summary
Thirteen-year-old troll princess Horra Fyd’s life changes forever after an unexpected visit from the fairy queen and her two daughters. Tales of fairies gave Horra nightmares as a young troll. Before evening falls, however, a real nightmare unfolds. Horra’s father, King Fyd, goes missing. Her woodgoblin instructor is poisoned and uses his magic to revert to a seed. And a mysterious, gaunt man wearing a cape and playing a panflute joins the fairies in trying to capture her.
Horra flees but is instantly lost in a world she’s never had to travel alone. A letter hidden in her knapsack from her late instructor informs her that a power hungry Erlking seeks revenge against her kingdom and their allies for a two-generation old war. She is tasked with getting his seed to the Weald, a magical forest. There it can regenerate into a druid, the only creature with the power to hold the balance between good and evil, and who is able to defeat the Erlking.
However, the Erlking is always one step behind her. Horra must fight to protect herself, but she has no magic. She accepts a gift from a dead druid spirit of a charmed woodencloak to disguise her. But magic failed her mother, how can she possibly trust it?
Can Horra have faith and courage enough to trust a power she can’t see, and become a warrior heroine her foremothers can be proud of? Or will she allow fear to rule over her and lose everything that matters—including her life?
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Author Interview
Would you tell us more about the main characters from Woodencloak?
The main character is a smallish troll princess who loves herself, warts and all, but as a troll, she has no magic. She’s fierce, hard-working, and dedicated to her kingdom. She loves animals and plants. Though she is well-educated for a troll, she has been rather shielded from normal life. She hasn’t believed in magic since it failed to save her mother’s life. Fairies give her nightmares.
The Erlking is a dark-magic using elf who has been rejected by his kind – the reclusive elves. He seeks vengeance for the destruction of his predecessor who was defeated by the trolls and the fairies in a war two generations before. That predecessor placed a curse on the land, foretelling this Erlking’s coming as the possible end of their world as they know it. He is based on the Pied Piper of Hamelin.
What inspired you to write a story with a troll as your heroine?
The last name Fyd had floated in my mind for over twenty years when I noticed it on a piece of mail I sorted in a mail room where I worked. I played around with the different character names you could use but let it sit in the back of my mind. Fast forward a dozen or so years and I was challenged by my boss at a flash fiction magazine to write a flash fiction piece from one of my manuscripts. It was about a library of the undead. I sat down and wrote a seven-hundred word story in less than two hours about a troll princess, her two fairy half-sisters and a spell that went awry. When I sent it in for feedback and was delighted when they published it—my first published work. I loved the idea of the characters so much that I wrote Woodencloak around them.
Which character do you most relate to and why?
I relate to Princess Horra because I was a very small girl and a huge tomboy as a child. I loved bugs and playing in the mud. Even though I was very small, I was fierce in my own mind, and always loved playing in nature. I took much of that and put it into Horra.
What advice would Horra give about navigating her world?
Never leave your bow and arrows behind when your castle is overtaken. Always check to be sure the rocks you are near aren’t magnetized when you need to rely on your compass. When going incognito, stick to the shadows. Magic can be useful after all.
What part or aspect of this story do you love the most?
I love how fierce Horra is. I wanted a story where the odds were against my main character but that the main character was bigger than anything the fates could throw at her. She’s someone everyone can identify with, imperfect but determined to make the right choices even when it doesn’t look like they’re the right ones.
When you reach for a book to read, what genre do you grab and what are some of your favorites in that genre?
I love fantasy, most any genre and age group of it as well as dystopian fiction. I adored the Harry Potter series where good triumphed over evil in the end, and where love and friendship were the true important things in life. Some of my favorite authors are Lindsay Buroker, Patricia Briggs, and Jenny Schwartz.
What was a book that made you cry, a book that made you laugh and a book that made you swoon?
The Hunger Games made me cry more than once—I was incredibly invested in the characters. A.G Howard’s villain turned hero Morpheus made me swoon in his determination to win over the main character, Alyssa in the Splintered series. This series is based on Alice in Wonderland which is one of my all-time favorite books. I never knew the mad-hatter could be so tantalizing a character.
What’s something you enjoy doing when you’re not reading or writing?
I love crafting (so many crafts, so little time!) and enjoy thrift shopping. Of course, I delight in spending time with my grandchildren.
What are you working on next?
I am working on the second book in the Band of Unlikely Heroes series and the third in my Firebird series, pretty much simultaneously.
Other Books by the Author
The Girl with Stars in Her Eyes
(Firebird Series #1)
By Dawn Ford
Christian YA Fantasy
Paperback & ebook, 297 Pages
April 12, 2022 by Expanse Books
Summary
Eighteen-year-old servant girl Tambrynn is haunted by more than her unusual silver hair and the star-shaped pupils in her eyes. Her uncontrollable ability to call objects leads the wolves who savagely murdered her mother right to her door.
When she’s fired and outcast during a snowstorm, her carriage wrecks and she’s forced to find refuge in an abandoned cottage. There, her life is upended when the magpie who’s stalked her for ten years transforms into a man, Lucas. He’s her Watcher and they’re from a different kingdom. His job is to keep her safe from her father, an evil mage, who wants to steal her abilities, turn her into one of his undead beasts, and become immortal himself.
Can they make it to the magical passageway and get to their home kingdom in time for Tambrynn to thwart her father’s malicious plans? Or will Tambrynn’s unique magic doom them all?
(Affiliate links included.)
About the Author
Dawn adores anything steampunk, is mesmerized by shiny, pretty things, loves purses, shoes, and needs at least one good, strong cup of coffee a day to wake up.
Dawn’s novel, The Girl With Stars In Her Eyes, won the 2016 ACFW Genesis Award under the title, Kingdom Come. Her flash fiction stories have been featured in Havok, an online magazine.
Connect with Dawn by visiting dawnfordauthor.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.
Photo credit: Arpit Mehta
Tour Schedule
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Tour-Wide Giveaway
Full tour schedule linked above. The giveaway begins at midnight March 13, 2023 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on March 20, 2023. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.
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Does this sound like a story you or someone you know would enjoy? Have you read any other stories with trolls?
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