Month: February 2020

Fantasy Creatures Blog Tag

Happy weekend (end of the weekend) everyone! Today to continue the fantasy month fun, I’m going to do the Fantasy Creatures Blog Tag by Jenelle Schmidt! Thanks, Jenelle! If anyone would like to play this game, consider yourself tagged and click through to Jenelle’s post for the list of rules and a “clean” set of questions. 🙂

And now, without further ado, the Fantasy Creatures Blog Tag!

1. In a strange twist of fate, you are transported into a fantasy realm of your choice. The catch? You have also been transformed into your least favorite fantasy creature. Where are you, and what are you?

Ooo, such an interesting question! So for me, I absolutely hate vampires, so I suppose I am a vampire.

But fantasy realm of my choice? That’s a bit harder. As discussed last week, I really love urban fantasy, but those realms are so close to our own. So…I think I’d end up in Anne Bishop’s The Others.

First off, as a vampire, I’d be one of the Sanguinati, which is a bit better than traditional vampires. They still have accents and dress very old world and drink blood, but they can turn into clouds of vapor and drift around. Also, the supernatural creatures are in charge! Fear us, humans!

2. What fantasy creature do you wish featured in more stories? What is your favorite story that has that creature in it?

I know these are both becoming a bit more common, but I want more mermaids and more kitsune (or fox shifters).

For mermaids, my favorite is absolutely the Lost Voices trilogy by Sarah Porter. They are SO GOOD, and the mythology around the development of mermaids is so sad but also so gratifying: those deeply betrayed by humanity are embraced by the ocean and become mermaids, no matter where they decide they are no longer part of the human race. It’s about finding acceptance and peace after having a life where a girl has had neither.

As for kitsune…I’m still looking for a favorite, so if you have one, be sure to share it below! There are a couple on my list, like Wicked Fox and Kitsune-Tsuki, but I haven’t gotten to read them yet. And I can’t list Janeen Ippolito’s Steel City Genie, because even though she HAS a kitsune (half-kitsune), she’s a secondary character.

3. As you are reading this, a voice rings in your ear proclaiming:

A hero true, a leader strong,
A quest is where you do belong,
So arm thyself, and take your stand
With an item to your left your fate is at hand.

Besides the fact that this prophetic voice is clearly incapable of sticking to a meter, what ordinary item do you now find yourself armed with? (And, for bonus points, what helpful magical properties does it now possess that will help you on your quest?)

I’m sitting kind of weird, so to my left is actually my purse. And guess what? It’s now a bag of holding. BOOM.

4. You happen across an ad in a catalogue promising a magical fantasy cruise that will allow you to stop in any three realms of your choice and explore each for several days before returning you home (and the ad promises your safe return or your money back, guaranteed!) Assuming this is not a hoax and that the tour guides will actually be able to cater to your requests, what three realms will you tour and what do you hope to see/who would you like to meet along the way?

Realm 1: The Others, again. I just love those books. I want to see/meet Simon and Meg for sure, and I’d love to meet the Elemental girls! I’ll have to see Lakeside as well as the retreat for the Others in Lake Silence.

Realm 2: The Siren by Kiera Cass…I want to meet the Ocean. Ocean is an actual character that speaks to the siren girls, and it’s such an interesting and well-done concept, and the Ocean has such a fascinating personality.

Realm 3: How could I not say the world of Harry Potter? I would have loved to meet Lupin and see Diagon Alley and Hogwarts and meet the Weasleys.

5. Congratulations! You are a fantasy hero/heroine about to start your adventure. You get to choose a small fantasy creature to accompany and assist you on your quest. Who/what do you choose?

Hi yes, I will choose a niffler. Might be a terrible idea, but they’re just so cute!

6. Elves or dwarves?

Hard question, but I think I’d go with Dwarves!

7. Do you prefer your dragons (we had to have at least one question devoted solely to dragons!) good or evil or a mix of both?

I prefer my dragons good, like the metallic dragons in Dungeons and Dragons. I’d love some fierce creatures to help me on my quests!

8. World building is a complicated undertaking full of many details. As a reader, what is a small detail you really appreciate seeing when it comes to diving into a new realm? What is something that helps you lose yourself in a fantasy world?

I love seeing that the writer thought out things like idioms and sayings that fit with the world they characters are familiar with, phrases that reference the religion or fairy tales of the culture. It helps ground me (and helps me lose myself) in the fantasy world.

9. You have been transformed into your favorite fantasy creature. Problem is… you’re still in your own bedroom and your family is downstairs, completely unprepared for this shock. What creature are you, and how (if at all) do you break the news to your loved ones? (Or how do you get out of your room?)

Though I love kitsune, I’ll go with mermaids because it’s more interesting for this question and giving me serious H2O vibes (Love that show forever!).

Okay, so I transform into a mermaid, and I can’t really hide that, soooo…they’ll find out! I won’t be able to get out of my room without help anyway. I’ll just let them be surprised. 😉

Concluding thoughts

Just a reminder that you are free to participate in this tag on your own blogs! Also, don’t forget to check out the fantasy month post to look for information on the giveaways, games, and other participating posts for the month!

And please share some of your own answers with me below!

Urban Fantasy: A Closer Look

Let’s talk urban fantasy!

Welcome back to Fantasy Month! As a reminder, you can find out all about this event over on Jenelle Schmidt’s blog.

Previously, we’ve discussed some of the subgenres of fantasy, but today I want to delve more into urban fantasy, its own subgenre of fantasy. Why? Because urban fantasy has a lot of subtle nuances that tend to be used interchangeably, and there can be a lot of disagreement about what exactly urban fantasy is.

But first, a note. Even though this is how I define urban fantasy, you don’t have to agree with me. Not everyone does! But I encourage you to share your ideas in the comments so we can chat. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Urban fantasy is not contemporary fantasy

I feel like this is a common misconception. Many people equate urban fantasy with anything set in modern time. However, it’s a bit more nuanced than that.

By definition, urban fantasy (UF) must take place in a city setting (urban). It could be historical urban fantasy, but the most likely, and the most recognized, is modern day city settings.

Contemporary fantasy, on the other hand, isn’t restricted to a city setting. It can be rural, under the ocean, on the moon…though there may be other overlapping genres there. 😉 But the key is that it takes place in current times without specifying location.

Contemporary and low fantasy aren’t the same

Low fantasy, similar to contemporary fantasy, takes place in our world. However, similar to urban fantasy, it does not have to be modern time. Contemporary, by definition, does take place during modern times.

Urban fantasy and paranormal romance are similar…but not the same

This one is still fuzzier to me. Urban fantasy is similar to paranormal romance (PNR), but it tends to focus much less on romantic elements. PNR centers on romantic relationships, though it shares many other characteristics with UF. As I had mentioned last year in the fantasy subgenres breakdown, paranormal itself tends to center on another specific characteristic, so I’d say that PNR is just paranormal with a romantic twist.

Do you have a good definition of PNR? Do you love it? Hate it? Tell me in the comments!

So what are some hallmarks of urban fantasy?

Many people will overlap urban and contemporary fantasy, and there are a lot of book series that fall into this category in bookstores and online. Many of them tend to share some of the same features (but these are by no means inclusive and UF doesn’t have to contain all of them):

  • Brandon Sanderson once described urban fantasy as “chicks in leather fighting demons”. This can be accurate for some.
  • Many main characters (not all) are female.
  • Main characters may be human or not. But they become deeply immersed in supernatural culture.
  • There are often slow-burn romantic elements, but it is not the focus of the story, and romance isn’t a requirement.
  • Books are often long-running series.
  • Each book in a series is self-contained, but overall character arcs continue to develop from book to book.
  • UF may contain the following (or more!): shifters, fae, werewolves, vampires, ghosts, mages, demons, angels, any magical creature you can think of.

Do you have other characteristics you’ve seen in urban fantasy? What are they? Tell me in the comments!

Final thoughts

Personally, I LOVE urban fantasy, but I know it isn’t for everyone. For me, I love that idea that magic could be just around the corner, that we just don’t see it around us. It’s an idea I became almost obsessed with over the past several years, starting with when I read the Mercy Thompson books in grad school. And because of my love for it, I tend to write quite a bit of it.

This Cursed Flame is a YA contemporary/portal fantasy. It doesn’t take place in a city, but it is set in modern times. It includes many, many djinn. And a genie.

Pumpkin Spice Pie-Jinks is also contemporary fantasy, but it doesn’t take place in a city, so again, just contemporary. It does, however, have fae all over it.

And my newest release (out today!), Freeze Thaw, is a blend of contemporary and historical fantasy, as it combines magic in the Ice Age with magic in the modern world. But it’s set at an archaeological dig rather than a city, so I say, again, contemporary.

I’d love to tell you of all my upcoming projects, but it would simply take too long. So instead, do you have any favorite UF (or similar) reads? What are they? Why do you love them? Let’s chat!

~~~

New Release Announcement!

As I mentioned, Freeze Thaw is out today! It is novelette length and a Sleeping Beauty retelling…in fact, it’s the same story that started all the Seasons of Magic stories! It was a Top Ten finalist in the Rooglewood Press Five Magic Spindles contest, and I am still in love with my story.

Click on the picture or the link above to find out more!

My Top 3 Underrated Fantasy Creatures

Happy February! If you were here last February, you may remember that I participated in Jenelle Schmidt’s Fantasy Month…and it’s back!

If you’re here, I’m going to guess you love fantasy as much as I do, so be sure to hop over and see the other Fantasy Month blog posts, or hop over to Instagram to see some bookstagram posts on the theme. I’ll be participating as I can (though I missed a couple days already because I’ve been sick), and if you want to participate, check out the Insta prompts here:

You can find more information on Jenelle’s Instagram or on her blog, linked above.

And now, back to the fantasy goodness and today’s topic: my favorite underrated fantasy creatures!

Skoffin

First on my list is one I learned about last year when Janeen Ippolito’s If Wishes were Curses came out…the skoffin! (There is an accent over that i.)

Anyway, what is a skoffin, you ask? It is an Icelandic creature that’s a cross between a cat and an arctic fox. And its gaze will kill you immediately.

Of course there’s more to it than that, but it’s leading to the development of some interesting future projects for me. Hubs and I went to Iceland for our honeymoon, and I just can’t get over the location and the lore. This is just one more example of something I can’t wait to use in my own writing.

Do you know any books, besides the one I mentioned above, that have a skoffin? I’d love to hear about it!

Selkies

I kind of love selkie lore. But for those of you unfamiliar with this one, they are seal creatures that can come on land by shedding their seal skin and take on the form of a person, usually a maiden. Selkies can be captured by a person in possession of their seal skin, which prevents them from returning to the sea.

Selkies had an episode in Lost Girl, but I have to admit I haven’t seen much beyond that episode (though I know it’s not a clean watch, for those of you concerned about content). Seanan McGuire has a selkie in her October Daye series, and I believe Jenelle Schmidt is working on a selkie story as well, but do you have any that you love?

Djinn and Genies

I’m a little partial to this one, of course (check out my This Curse series, book 1 out now and book 2 on its way!). I love genies and djinn in fiction, and they’re not super common. As I mentioned above, Janeen Ippolito also has a series of genies (urban fantasy) with other creatures, and Rachel Caine’s Weather Wardens books also involves djinn (caution: Weather Wardens are NOT clean fiction). I am also partial to I Dream of Jeannie. 😉

Do you know and love other genie books?

Concluding thoughts

These are three of my top underrated fantasy creatures, but there are so many others out there. I also love kitsune and am working on some fox shifter urban fantasy that expands kitsune lore to a worldwide scale, but we are starting to see more kitsune in publication. And of course I love more typical fantasy creatures, like werewolves/shifters, fae, and mermaids, but they get plenty of attention. 😉

But now I’d love to hear from you. What kinds of fantasy creatures do you wish you saw more of in fiction? What are they like? Where did you learn about them? Let’s chat in the comments!