Heir to the Lamp Will Soon Be Revealed

 



 Totally YA Tuesday

"A few days ago, I thought I knew all there was to know about how I came to be here…in this place…in this family…but now there’s the lamp and the Grimms, and I don’t know anything for sure anymore."        

 

From Heir to the Lamp

 

Today I am doing something here on my blog that I have not done for a long time...A Blog Tour Stop featuring the YA novel Heir to the Lamp by author Michelle Lowery Combs, and I am very excited to be part of her blog tour and even more excited that she is gracing my blog with a guest post on the oldest inspiration for many writers--the stories, the myths, the fables, and fairytales of our youth. 

I am not a complete LOTR or Star Wars Geek, but my favorite stories are the sagas of extraordinary worlds and fantastical creatures, and one day I will finish one of the many fantasy/sci-fi stories I have floating around in my head along with the the thoughts of wet laundry still sitting in my washing machine and Frank's parvo (Frank is the rat terrier mix pup who miracuosly survived after a 1,000 medical bill because we couldn't just wait around and see him die). 

Until then, I will keep blogging and social media-ing! 

Up first...Michelle Lowery Combs!

Did I mention a giveaway?  I do not have the details yet, but I would leave a comment :)
 

 

Summary of Heir to the Lamp (from Author Website):

Gifted with a mysterious lamp and the missing pieces from her adoption story, Ginn tries to discover who…or what…she really is. That should be strange enough, but to top it off Ginn’s being hunted by the Order of the Grimoire, a secret society who’ll stop at nothing to harness the power of a real genie. Ginn struggles to stay one step ahead of the Grimms with the help of Rashmere, Guardian of the lamp and the most loyal friend a girl never knew she had. The Grimms are being helped, too—but by whom? As much as she doesn’t want to, Ginn’s beginning to question the motives of her long-time crush Caleb Scott and his connection to her newest, most dangerous enemy.

Guest Post by Michelle Lowery Combs

 

On Discovering Real Magic

What if magic were real? It’s a potent fantasy, one that captures the minds of many young readers and sticks with them forever. As an adult, I’m always on the lookout for everyday magic around me: a perfect sunset, the smiles of a sleeping baby, the flow of a perfect piece of prose; but I also enjoy, thanks to some favorite fairytale and fantasy stories of my youth, contemplating the possibilities of cloaks of invisibility, talking animals, and parallel universes that can open themselves up to someone simply waiting at a train station.

When I began planning Heir to the Lamp, my first young adult fantasy novel about a teenage genie, I knew that the story would include more than a little magic. I set out to research genie folklore, which would set me on new paths of discovery that paralleled, crisscrossed, and intersected one another until they would have looked like a road map if plotted out in black and white.

There was so much to explore. I’d never imagined the roots of so many mythical and fairytale creatures could be traced back to the genie, or djinni as it’s called in one of the oldest traditions. Angels, demons, ghouls, sprites, faeries and leprechauns—all thought by some to be genies by another name. And then there were the magical objects associated with the versatile djinn—everything from the Arabian Nights style brass lamp to mirrors and polished scrying glasses used to imprison genies at the will of their masters. The possibilities for Heir to the Lamp seemed endless, and I had a great deal of fun turning the idea of the genie’s lamp, a traditionally unbearably cramped prison for unfortunate djinn, on its head.

In my favorite fantasies from childhood, it was most often a character’s experience with an enchanted object that lay at the heart of his or her story: The Hobbit and his ring tricked from a Golem, Snow White and her stepmother’s sinister talking mirror. In Heir to the Lamp readers will discover how a seemingly ordinary oil lamp turns out to be anything but and connects a teenage girl to a 3,000 year-old genie.

I have never ceased to wonder at the countless examples of real and ordinary magic all around us as we go about our day to day lives, nor will I ever grow too old to imagine the possibilities of mermaid combs, seven league boots, or a brass oil lamp that contains an entire ocean and private island waiting to be explored.

I hope you enjoy Heir to the Lamp!



Author Bio from World Weaver Press:

Michelle Lowery Combs is an award-winning writer and book blogger living in rural Alabama with her husband, one cat, and too many children to count. She spends her spare time commanding armies of basketball and soccer munchkins for the Parks & Recreation departments of two cities. When not in the presence of throngs of toddlers, tweens and teens, Michelle can be found neglecting her roots and dreaming up the next best seller. She is a member of the Alabama Writers’ Conclave, Jacksonville State University’s Writers’ Club and her local Aspiring Authors group.

Publisher Website:  http://worldweaverpress.com/books/heir-to-the-lamp/

Author Website: http://michellelowerycombs.com/

Author Blog:  http://www.michelle-lowery-combs.blogspot.com/