Lovin' los libros

A book blog dedicated to young adult and new adult novels

Blog Tour: Silent Orchids by Morgan Wylie {Review+ Author Interview}

By 7:46 AM , , , , , , ,



Silent Orchids (Age of Alandria #1)
    by: Morgan Wylie

Release Date: May 7, 2013
Publisher: American Majestic Entertainment
Genre: YA Fantasy
Source: e-ARC from InkSlinger PR
Page Count:  238 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 3.5/5 stars

A dying realm.

The ancient evil of the Droch-Shúil has been unleashed.

The Orchids have been silenced… but for how long?

Daegan, elite of the Ferrishyn warrior tribe of Faeries, is charged with a mission to find the Sol-lumieth, a mysterious new power that could change the fate of all in the realm of Alandria. But he is conflicted by his purpose, and he cannot trust the motives of those he serves. He has too many questions and they must be answered.

Kaeleigh, a girl abandoned as a small child just outside Missoula, Montana, is now 18. She is trying to discover who she is and where she belongs. In her heart, she feels she has family out there… somewhere. Desperate to unravel the mysteries of her past, she embarks on a journey that will forever change her along with her two best friends, Finn and Chel—who have secrets of their own.
 
My Review:
 
Silent Orchids was a great start to the Age of Alandria series. Wylie does not hesitate to throw us right into this fantastical world, introducing us to the lore of the world she has created. In fact, some of it felt almost Lord of the Rings like describing the faeries, elves, and the other mystical beings. (And I'm a huge LOTR fan so this so worked for me!) She does quite a bit of world building in this novel, getting us acquainted with not only the realm of Alandria, but also with the characters.
 
We are first introduced to Kaeleigh, our main character, who is experiencing flashes and dreams that she cannot explain nor understand. She knows nothing of her heritage, only her true name (Kaeleighnna) and that the orchid has some kind of special meaning to her. She lives in Montana and while she may not have any family, she does have two best friends: Finn and Chel. Both are fiercely loyal to her and she considers them to be her family. Chel is fun, upbeat, and bubbly where Finn is more introspective. There are several occasions throughout the novel where we see just how protective Finn and Chel are of Kaeleigh and how the binds of friendship will not be broken, even when tested.
 
We then meet Daegan: angry, determined, stoic, he is a warrior who has been trained by the Ferrishyn, the elite warrior race of the Faeries. He lives with his great aunt and uncle who are the current rulers of Feraánmar (the Faerie dominion). It is clear his great aunt is the one with the power and I am eager to find out more about her in the next book, as she is powerful, manipulative, and not to be trusted. Her son Halister treats Daegan as a brother and he is the one who accompanies Daegan on a recon quest to find out if they are in danger from a distant threat. On this quest Daegan is accompanied to see the Elders, who inform him there is a human girl of great value that he must seek out and protect at all costs. After disclosing this information to his great-aunt, he unwillingly sets out to find this girl and to bring her back. Easier said than done.
 
Kaeleigh is a lot of fun to read about. She is actually a believeable protagonist. She is still an 18 year old girl and acts like one. She puts on a tough face, but is also vulnerable and frightened at everything that is beginning to happen to her. Slowly (and I mean SLOWLY) she begins to trust Daegan and does eventually accompany him (along with Finn and Chel) to Alandria.Watching them interact is fun, but frustrating at the same time. Daegan does not wear his emotions on his sleeve, but in those moments of vulnerability, Kaeleigh sees something more in him and I am excited to see where Morgan is going to take their relationship in the next installment.
 
Overall, fans of high fantasy will really enjoy this book, even though it does end quite abruptly. There is a pretty big revelation towards the end of Kaeleigh, so I'm eager to learn more already!
 
~Interview with Morgan Wylie~
So excited to have Morgan join me on the tour today for an interview!


Thanks for the interview Morgan! I am super excited to talk to everyone about the release of your new book, Silent Orchids!

Thank you so much for having me today!!

 First off, can you tell us a little bit about yourself? I see you currently reside near Nashville? (Wooo! Me too!)
What?! Give me a shout…I’m always up for coffee!! Yes, I live near Nashville via the Pacific Northwest (east side of WA) I’m a wife to a fantastic man and talented musician and Mama to a beautiful little girl :) I’m a book addict, coffee lover, and I secretly love to watch my daughter’s cartoons with her.

How did you come up with the idea to write Silent Orchids?
I was sitting and relaxing, watching some TV (I was 7 months prego, so I was probably more like sprawling). A commercial came on and it had an orchid in it… probably a perscription commercial or something like it, don’t they usually have flowers? lol. And, without trying to sound cliché, the story flashed before my mind’s eye. I saw it all unfold. Now granted, it has evolved quit a bit since then, but basically I started writing this story and haven’t stopped. The characters wouldn’t leave me alone—they still don’t ;)

 How did you come up with creating the realm of Alandria? What inspired you?
I always wanted to create my own world. It actually was quite a bit more challenging than I thought it would be trying to keep it credible and believable but still otherworldly. I love trees! So there are a lot of forests filled with ancient and mysterious trees. I think they were my main inspiration. I have a map someone created for me if you want to check it out here.

When did you start writing? And why choose fantasy?

I started seriously writing in 2009. I have always LOVED fantasy. I think for me, at times it can be an escape from reality, but also a place to foster imagination and creativity beyond what’s “normal”. You can bend the “rules” in fantasy more than you can with other genres of fiction.

Which character would you say you relate to the most in this book?

I think I am a mix of Kaeleigh and Chel. I have Kaeleigh’s independent and stubborn and self-reliant characteristics as well as some of Chel’s light heartedness and fun.

Which was your favorite to write?

Chel is fun to write, but I think Halister is my favorite to write. We see a lot more of Hal in book 2 so I’m excited about that.

This is your debut novel, correct? What thoughts, feelings have you been experiencing these last couple of weeks, knowing the release date is almost here?

Yes it is! It’s a very surreal experience. It’s very exciting and for me has been a long time in the works. I go from feelings of giddiness and shouting with arms flailing to a “feaked out” feeling of “OMG! People I don’t know are going to be reading my book!” It’s also a very vulnerable and humbling feeling as well. I’m very grateful for this journey and where it has brought me.

I noticed you have a soundtrack to go along with the book. Can you tell us a bit more about it? What motivated you to create one?

YES!! Thank you so much for asking about it. My musician husband and a very talented friend of his are the master minds behind the soundtrack. It is all original music, professionally mastered and produced. It’s a beautiful and hauntingly melodic piece that fits really well with tone of the book. It releases the same day as the book, May 7th by Steven James Wylie and Blair Masters.

When you aren’t writing, what books do you like to read?

I like to read mainly YA fantasy and paranormal romance (I also throw in some adult too). I read both traditional and Indie. I recently just finished The Rising by Kelley Armstrong (love all her stuff)  and I have Clockwork Prince in my TBR pile. I also just read Darkness Kindled by Samantha Young (love her) and I love Lizzy Ford and Julia Crane and Quinn Loftis and so so many more!!

When can we roughly expect the second book in the Age of Alandria series?

Actually, if all goes according to plan, I’m hoping to have book 2 out early this Fall :)
 





ABOUT MORGAN WYLIE:

Morgan Wylie has been writing on and off throughout her growing up years, but started seriously working on her first novel in the Spring of 2009. 7 months pregnant with her first child, she didn't start off with a lot of focused writing time. But Morgan had an epiphany, if you will, and the story flashed before her so she began to write. And she’s still writing. Her debut Young Adult fantasy, SILENT ORCHIDS, will be out this summer.




LINKS:
Twitter: MWylieBooks
Friend Morgan on Facebookor Goodreads
 

 
Blog Tour:

Here is the schedule for the SILENT ORCHIDS Blog Tour. It is an amazing tour and going to be so much fun!

May 6th

Mundie Moms
RELEASE DAY LAUNCH (See section below)
 
May 8th
 

May 9th

May 10th

May 11th

May 12th

May 13th

May 14th

May 15th

May 16th

May 17th

May 18th

May 19th

Release Day Launch:
Blogs Taking Part in the Release Day Launch

You Might Also Like

1 comments

  1. Thanks for doing an interview with me Morgan! It's always so much fun to learn more about authors and their books!

    ReplyDelete

Leave me some comment love! And I will get around to commenting back!

My blog is an award-free blog, however, as I just do not have the time to follow-up.

Search This Blog

Powered by Blogger.