Song of Blood & Stone by L. Penelope is a vibrant new epic fantasy that will have you begging for more! There is so much to love about this book – racial diversity, political themes that reflect our modern era perfectly, star-crossed lovers, tons of magic, and a new fantastical world to get lost in. Jasminda and Jack are the bomb.com together, and Jasminda is one of my new favorite fantasy heroines. She has so much morality in her, and she really strives to do the right thing in every situation. I admire his courage and tenacity so much.
I’m really excited to be teaming up with the lovely team at St. Martin’s Press for this blog tour post and special author Q&A. If Song of Blood & Stone isn’t on your radar yet – run don’t walk to add it right now. Trust me, you’re not going to want to be left out of this party.
Shall we dive right into the good stuff?
A Q&A with L. Penelope
Q: There is a great air of mystery in Song of Blood & Stone – what do you think is the single most important element to building up a mystery in a story?
Mysteries are all about who knows what when. What does the main character know? What do the side characters know? What does the reader know? When do they find out? Who knows what first? Also, crafting mystery requires keeping track of not only knowledge but assumptions. If you know that if you tell half the story, the readers will assume one thing, you can play with that and subvert their expectations when you reveal the other half.
Is there a character in SONG OF BLOOD & STONE that you most relate to?
I think Jasminda represents various aspects of myself both as I am and as I’d like to be. She’s definitely bolder than I am, but her struggle to feel a part of things is one that I understand.
What do you most hope that readers take away from SONG OF BLOOD AND STONE?
I really just hope readers enjoy the story and the characters. Jasminda is a heroine that I had been longing to see, so I hope people get as much joy and heartache from her story as I did when I wrote it.
Can you tell us more about the next books in the series? What are you working on now?
Book 2, WHISPERS OF SHADOW & FLAME, follows a parallel timeline to SONG. It’s about Darvyn, a character we hear about in SONG who was the Earthsinger responsible for disguising Jack. The disguise’s failure gets Jack captured and he wonders what happened to Darvyn. So in WHISPERS, we find out. But it also pushes the story forward, showing what’s going on in Lagrimar in the days before the Mantle comes down and setting up the next challenge that Jack, Jasminda, and Darvyn will face.
Book 3, CRY OF METAL & BONE picks up the story of how Elsira and Lagrimar deal with the fall of the Mantle and the new threat facing the nations.
I’m also working on a brand-new series with dragons.
What are your favorite books you would recommend to readers?
Among my favorites of all time are Wild Seed by Octavia Butler, The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay, Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta, Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover, Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor and Sheltered by Charlotte Stein. I could go on and on, but I’ll leave it there.
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There you have it, folks, this is one series I know you guys will love. Thanks for joining me today!
A treacherous, thrilling, epic fantasy about an outcast drawn into a war between two powerful rulers.
Orphaned and alone, Jasminda lives in a land where cold whispers of invasion and war linger on the wind. Jasminda herself is an outcast in her homeland of Elsira, where her gift of Earthsong is feared. When ruthless soldiers seek refuge in her isolated cabin, they bring with them a captive–an injured spy who threatens to steal her heart.
Jack’s mission behind enemy lines to prove that the Mantle between Elsira and Lagamiri is about to fall nearly cost him his life, but he is saved by the healing Song of a mysterious young woman. Now he must do whatever it takes to save Elsira and it’s people from the True Father and he needs Jasminda’s Earthsong to do it. They escape their ruthless captors and together they embark on a perilous journey to save Elsira and to uncover the secrets of The Queen Who Sleeps.
Thrust into a hostile society, Jasminda and Jack must rely on one another even as secrets jeopardize their bond. As an ancient evil gains power, Jasminda races to unlock a mystery that promises salvation.
The fates of two nations hang in the balance as Jasminda and Jack must choose between love and duty to fulfill their destinies and end the war.