Jill Bowers
Blue Moon Publishers
Available November 5, 2016
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads
About Immortal Writers
Young up-and-coming author Liz McKinnen has no idea that her life is about to change forever when she comes home from her first book tour. When she’s kidnapped and told by her captors that she has to kill her fantasy book’s antagonist, she thinks that she’s fallen into the hands of crazy, dangerous fans… until her antagonist sends a real, fire-breathing dragon after her. Liz is quickly initiated into the Immortal Writers, a group of authors from throughout time whose words have given them eternal life, and whose prose is so powerful that it’s brought stories over from the Imagination Field into the Reality Field. As Liz meets authors such as William Shakespeare, JRR Tolkien, Edgar Allan Poe, and Jane Austen, she has to learn how to control magic, fight dragons, and face her own troubled past before her power-hungry villain takes over the world. Will she survive the ultimate battle against the dragon lord whom she created?
My Review
This book reminded me a bit of The Muse by Fred Warren in its blending of reality and an author’s story world. I enjoyed the references to all the other writers that eighteen-year-old Liz meets. Some of the conversations and dialogue between them was pretty cute.
The romance element was a bit predictable, but I really liked Liz, so I was glad to see her find someone she felt was worthy of her. In one battle, Liz uses terrible memories to demoralize and defeat her enemy. On the one hand it had that sort of cool element in terms of her use of a lesser ability to defeat an enemy. On the other hand, I felt like it was a particularly cruel attack akin to torture. I wasn’t a huge fan.
Despite these hiccups, I really appreciated the story world and especially the peripheral characters. Fans of quirky fantasy should give this one a look.
Cultural Elements
I think most everyone was white, but it’s difficult to remember. Race descriptions were minimal.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
Moderate profanity used infrequently.
Romance/Sexual Content – Trigger Warning
Liz faces memories of her stepdad sexually assaulting her. The descriptions are intense, but there’s no play by play of what happens.
At one point, a man watches Liz change her shirt. She begins a romantic relationship and has some lusty conversations with her new man. They share some kisses and he stays with her through a long, stressful night. They plan to do much more together, but the story doesn’t show those moments.
Spiritual Content
Liz’s characters use magic, and they bring their abilities into the real world. Liz can change herself and her characters by writing new stories.
Violent Content
Battles between humans and dragons. Some blood and gore.
Drug Content
At a restaurant with her boyfriend, Liz allows him to order wine for her, even though she’s only eighteen.
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