"I am a big fan of Elise Kova’s writing style especially when it comes to her world-building. Her descriptions of Nova in this book were so extensive and vivid but it absolutely did not feel like an unnecessary info dump! The “floating islands”, the mountains, the sky, the houses and buildings, all the different colours – it was so beautifully depicted and my imagination was running wild trying to picture all of Nova the way it was described!" - Jackie, Goodreads
Published: July 11th, 2017
Cvareh returns home to his sky world of Nova with the genius crafter Arianna as his temperamental guest. The mercurial inventor possesses all the Xin family needs to turn the tides of a centuries-old power struggle, but the secrets she harbors must be earned with trust — hard to come by for Ari, especially when it comes to Dragons. On Nova, Ari finds herself closer to exacting vengeance against the traitor who killed everything — and everyone – she once loved. But before Ari can complete her campaign of revenge, the Crimson Court exposes her shadowed past and reveals something even more dangerous sparking between her and Cvareh.
While Nova is embroiled in blood sport and political games, the rebels on Loom prepare for an all-out assault on their Dragon oppressors. Florence unexpectedly finds herself at the forefront of change, as her unique blend of skills — and quick-shooting accuracy — makes her a force to be reckoned with. For the future of her world, she vows vengeance against the Dragons.
Before the rebellion can rise, though, the Guilds must fall.
GUEST POST
OBSESSION WITH THE IMPOSSIBLE
Why we still read fantasy
Stories involving magic and the fantastical seem to have been around since the early days of humanity. From god-like entities controlling the macro-operations of our world world, to smaller mythical creatures making day-to-day mischief, readers are familiar with these tales of the impossible from a young age.
I think it is because some of the first stories we learn in life are steeped in magic that most people always harbor a love of fantasy—All one needs to look to is the Grimm fairy tales and their copious retellings that have brought them into common cultural mindshare (Disney, anyone?). Naturally, however, I can only speak for myself and my experiences… But the idea of magic has always been a source of fascination for me in spite of growing up in a very STEM (science, engineering, mathematics, and technology) focused family.
If anything, I think it is because of the advances in technology that have cemented fantasy stories in our modern consciousness. Where humans once described thunder as an angry god, we now know it to be a series of natural processes leading to a discharge of electricity and subsequent sound. As cool as science is, I think there’s a part of us that will always long for the wonder of, “What if…?” What if it’s more than that? What if there are elements among us that cannot be explained? Elements that simply are because, well, magic?
That juncture of magic and technology was one of my key inspirations for the Loom Saga.
When I sat down to write the Loom Saga, I knew I wanted to incorporate a very industrial, steampunk, world. But, I still wanted to write in fantasy. This created the question of, “What if magic replaced electricity as the major power source following steam?”
From there, the Loom Saga was born.
The world of Loom is driven by that STEM background I experienced growing up among my family. It’s a logic and science based society. But, when the sky world of Nova, home of the Dragons, meets them, everything changes. There are elements that can no longer be explained but simply are because of magic.
Those tensions I hope are apparent to my readers and are escalated in the second installment in the saga, THE DRAGONS OF NOVA.
About the author:
Elise Kova has always had a profound love of fantastical worlds. Somehow, she managed to focus on the real world long enough to graduate with a Master’s in Business Administration before crawling back under her favorite writing blanket to conceptualize her next magic system. She currently lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, and when she is not writing can be found playing video games, watching anime, or talking with readers on social media. She is the USA Today bestselling author of the Air Awakens Series as well as the Loom Saga.
Hi, Mrs. Kova
ReplyDeleteI liked your GP
our ancestors put on magic everything they couldn't explain. Now we "see" in magic/fantasy a help which, in stories, the good will always prevail.