The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell (Blog Tour Interview & #Giveaway)

Thursday, July 20, 2017 - Leave a Comment

I'm welcoming the author of this new release to my blog today for an
interview, so make sure you check that out as well as the giveaway below...

The Last Magician

by Lisa Maxwell

YA Fantasy, Urban Fantasy. Time Travel

Hardcover & ebook, 512 Pages

July 18th 2017 by Simon Pulse

Summary

Stop the Magician.

Steal the book.

Save the future.

In modern day New York, magic is all but extinct. The remaining few who have an affinity for magic—the Mageus—live in the shadows, hiding who they are. Any Mageus who enters Manhattan becomes trapped by the Brink, a dark energy barrier that confines them to the island. Crossing it means losing their power—and often their lives.

Esta is a talented thief, and she's been raised to steal magical artifacts from the sinister Order that created the Brink. With her innate ability to manipulate time, Esta can pilfer from the past, collecting these artifacts before the Order even realizes she’s there. And all of Esta's training has been for one final job: traveling back to 1902 to steal an ancient book containing the secrets of the Order—and the Brink—before the Magician can destroy it and doom the Mageus to a hopeless future.

But Old New York is a dangerous world ruled by ruthless gangs and secret societies, a world where the very air crackles with magic. Nothing is as it seems, including the Magician himself. And for Esta to save her future, she may have to betray everyone in the past.

(Affiliate links included - I receive a small kickback if you make a purchase using my links.)

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Interview

1. Would you tell us a little about the main character from THE LAST MAGICIAN?

Esta Filosik is a girl who was raised to be a thief. She’s Mageus, which means she has an affinity for the Old Magic, which is all but dead by the present day. Her affinity happens to be for time manipulation. On her own, she can pull the seconds to a stop and move through the world as though she’s walking through a tableau. With the help of an ancient stone called Ishtar’s Key, she can actually travel through time. She’s sharp, driven, and loyal to the man who raised her, Professor Lachlan. Because she’s been trained to be a thief, she knows how to crack any lock, pick any pocket, and to take care of herself in a fight. But she has a soft side too—she wants approval and she wants to feel like she has a place in Professor Lachlan’s team.

2. What influenced your decision to have the story set in New York?

It took me a long time to figure out where and when Esta’s story was set, but one day I was introducing my kids to Newsies, and remembering how much I had loved that movie gave me the idea to set the story in New York City. Once I knew that Esta’s story would happen at the turn of the century, I knew that I had to deal with the city as it was—the warring gangs that fought for turf, the fabulously wealthy capitalists who ruled the city, and the moment in US history when we were really becoming a nation of immigrants.

3. The time travelling aspect of the story surprised me at first because I was expecting just the fantasy aspect. Were both of these aspects of the story planned on from the beginning?

I always knew that Esta would be magic. I had this image of a girl thief who could see in bullet time (like in the Matrix movie) about 5 years ago. But I didn’t know that she would be a time traveler until I realized I needed her to be tougher and more street smart than a girl in 1902 might be. I didn’t want her to feel like a historical character—I wanted her to feel more contemporary, so time travel seemed the obvious solution. Too bad time travel brings with it a whole wealth of other problems, lol.

4. What did you like most about going back in time to the early 1900s?

As a grad student, I studied the turn of the century and the way modernity came into being, so the time has always interested me. I love the turn of the century because there is such possibility there. The world as we know it—one with electrical power, telephones, and the speed of mechanical transportation—is just coming into being. But the turn of the century is also a time where you still get the romance of the past—the gorgeous gowns and men in vests. It really did seem like the best of both worlds. I also loved the idea of going back in time because I wanted the Mageus to be outsiders in the country. At the turn of the century, there was such an influx of immigration that the country itself started to change in really wonderful ways, and I thought using magic and the idea of the Mageus to play with the idea of those changes could be really useful.

5. Would you want to be a magician or a time traveler, and why or why not?

I would say a time traveler. The idea of being able to go back and experience the past (and then to come forward to safety) definitely appeals to me, because I’ve always had an interest in history.

6. What are some of your favorite fantasy or time travel books?

Outlander is the obvious choice. I fell in love with those books a few years back. I loved how strong Claire was and how she was able to acclimate and really figure out how to live in the past, even though she still had these moments of having a completely modern sensibility. I also really loved Deborah Harkness’s Shadow of Night, which is the second in her Discovery of Witches trilogy. The two main characters go back to Shakespearian England to find a witch who can train her, since she doesn’t know how to use her powers.

7. Are there any 2017 releases you’re looking forward to?

I’m looking forward to so many! Traci Chee’s sequel to The Reader, Jason Reynolds’ Long Way Down. Maggie Stiefvater’s new one, The Girl with the Red Balloon by Katharine Locke, and a ton more.

8. What are you working on next?

I’m hard at work on the sequel to The Last Magician. It has a title and a cover that I cannot wait to show everyone. If your readers want to be the first to see it, they should be sure to join The Devil’s Own: www.thelastmagician.com.

Thanks so much for having me!

About the Author

Lisa Maxwell is the author of Sweet Unrest, Gathering Deep, Unhooked, & The Last Magician (Simon Pulse, Spring 2017). When she's not writing books, she's an English professor at a local college. She lives near DC with her very patient husband and two not-so patient boys.

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Tour Schedule

Week One:

7/10/2017- YA and Wine- Interview

7/11/2017- Here's to Happy Endings- Review

7/12/2017- Novel Novice- Guest Post

7/13/2017- What the Cat Read- Review

7/14/2017- Stories & Sweeties- Excerpt

Week Two:

7/17/2017- NovelKnight- Review

7/18/2017- Two Chicks on Books- Guest Post

7/19/2017- Forever 17 Books- Review