Interview with Charlie N. Holmberg

Smoke and Summons (Numina Trilogy #1)

by Charlie N. Holmberg
Publisher: 47North
Release Date: February 1st 2019

Genre: Young Adult, Fiction, Fantasy

Synopsis:

A captivating world of monsters and magic from the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Paper Magician Series.

As a human vessel for an ancient spirit, Sandis lives no ordinary life. At the command of her master, she can be transformed against her will into his weapon—a raging monster summoned to do his bidding. Unlike other vessels, Sandis can host extremely powerful spirits, but hosting such creatures can be fatal. To stay alive, she must run. And in a city fueled by smoke and corruption, she finds a surprising ally.

A cunning thief for hire, Rone owns a rare device that grants him immortality for one minute every day—a unique advantage that will come in handy in Sandis’s fight for freedom. But Sandis’s master knows how powerful she is. He’s determined to get her back, and he has the manpower to find her, wherever she runs.

Now, to outwit her pursuers, Sandis must put all her trust in Rone and his immortal device. For her master has summoned more than mere men to hunt her down…

Can you briefly describe the world in Smoke & Summons and their main characters?

Smoke and Summons takes place in a northern, somewhat totalitarian country in the throes of industrialism. Its capitol is Dresberg, which is where 99.9% of the story takes place. Dresberg is crowded with both buildings and people, and the pollution from factories is so thick that when it rains, sludge falls from the sky. Everything centers around factories and production. It was built on top of ancient ruins of another people long disappeared, and mobs and gangs fill its nooks and crannies.

Sandis is an eighteen-year-old woman who’s been a slave the last four years of her life. But not just any slave. A vessel. A human host for bizarre spirits that exist on the ethereal plane. Her master uses her as a weapon as he sees fit, but doesn’t know she’s made a unique and strange bond with the otherworld creature she’s bound to. Her one desire is to have family again.

Rone considers himself a freelancer. Someone has dirty work they need done? They can hire him to do it, as long as it doesn’t directly involve murder. He has a handy little device that lets him be immortal for one minute per day, and it’s saved his butt more times than he can count. He hates Dresberg for many reasons, and wants nothing more than to leave it behind.

Who would you say is your favourite character from the story and why?

That’s really tricky. I love both of my main characters. Rone is fun to write—he’s full of personality—but Sandis is relatable and, despite everything that’s terrible in her life, is full of hope for the future. I really loved writing both of them, and their dynamic together.

How did the story occur to you? Did you find inspiration anywhere?

Well first, my agent and editor both bullied me to write another series, so I had to come up with a BIG idea to cover three books. I actually harvested a lot of the ideas from past novels and other ideas. I had the idea for a summoning magic (inspired by Final Fantasy) for another book, so I stole that. The idea of an immortality switch was in my brainstorming folder. I took the physical appearances of the numina from the third book I ever finished (which is now in a dumpster fire where it belongs). My daughter was really into Tangled at the time, so there might be a little Flynn Rider in there as well.

What’s your favourite quote from the book?

That’s another tricky one. I could definitely point out favorite scenes, but favorite lines . . . hard to say, especially out of context. One I like is near the end: “Sandis couldn’t help but think she was worth more than paper.” I think it says a lot about her character. She’s the lowest of the low, she’s had so much taken from her, and yet she still knows she has worth. She still harbors hope.

If you could choose one song to describe your book, which one would it be?

Now this is an easy one! “Believer” by Imagine Dragons. Just about every song they write could be on the soundtrack for this series.

If the book was a movie/TV show, who would you imagine representing your characters?

So when I wrote this book, I did so intentionally keeping race ambiguous. You know the characters are Kolin, but you don’t know if Kolin is white, brown, black, or purple. Because of that, I think there is a large swathe of actors and actresses who could play these characters. But pulling up my Pinterest board . . . if we could go back in time to a younger Mark Ruffalo, I think he’d make a good Rone. And when I was trying to piece together what Sandis looked like, I leaned on Spanish model Alba Galocha.

      

Since it is still cold outside, what hot drink do you think will go with your book to have a perfect book date?

Well, they drink cider in chapter five, so maybe that? But I’m also a believer than hot chocolate is the best of all the hot drinks!

Can you recommend your readers any other books in case they are left hungry for more once they finish Smoke & Summons?

Fortunately, the entire series is being released in 2019, so there’s not much of a wait! But if they like Smoke & Summons, I would recommend A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Scwab and Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson.

What’s next for you?

Myths & Mortals, book two, releases April 16th, and Siege & Sacrifice, book three, releases September 17th. After that I have a romantic fantasy standalone called The Will and the Wilds. Hoping to sell a historical fantasy duology soon (most comparable to The Paper Magician), and there might be a co-written series coming up . . . only time will tell.

Born in Salt Lake City, Charlie N. Holmberg was raised a Trekkie alongside three sisters who also have boy names. She is a proud BYU alumna, plays the ukulele, owns too many pairs of glasses, and finally adopted a dog. Her fantasy Paper Magician series, which includes The Paper Magician, The Glass Magician, and The Master Magician, has been optioned by the Walt Disney Company. Her stand-alone novel, Followed by Frost, was nominated for a 2016 RITA Award for Best Young Adult Romance, and her novel The Fifth Doll won the 2018 Whitney for Speculative Fiction. She is a board member for Deep Magic Ezine and currently lives with her family in Utah. Visit her at www.charlienholmberg.com.

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The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle

The Infinite Moment of Us

Lauren Myracle

316 pages

Publisher: Amulet Books

Release Date: August 27th, 2013

Rate: Average

The Infinite Moment Of Us is a story about finding your soulmate, growing up and getting to know that person that's suppose to be your forever-partner. I think that what makes this a good story is that it feels real from the first instant. 

The main characters, Wren and Charlie, have been to the same high school, yet they have never talked. Charlie has been in love with Wren since, well, forever, and Wren has not dated anyone, ever. 

Wren is the perfect daughter. Her parents always tell her what to do, so she follows the rules. They even tell her what she likes or not likes. It's kind of annoying and Wren has had enough. She tries to bring all the courage to say no for the first time. No to the college her parents want her to go and no to everything she's supposed to like and not like. And yes to Charlie. Sweet and charming Charlie.

She represents the innocence of not knowing anything about a relationship, because she has never had one. And she also represents the courage to stand up for herself and saying no for the first time. I admire her for release herself from the chains her parents put her on: all responsibility, always being the perfect daughter, the future doctor, following the steps of her parents... Although sometimes doubted her decisions and believe he was being a bad daughter. At those moments I wanted to shake her and scream at her that it was her life and she was the one to make the decisions and in which way to go.

Charlie has had a difficult life. Being in the system was not easy and knowing that your mother is still out there is painful. He has the perfect foster parents now, but Charlie does not want to be a burden for them. Being eighteen meant to give everything back, returning the grand favor to his foster parents. It was his time to take care of his brother, too. Or so he feels that way. 

I felt kind of sad when he wasn't able to see the great family he has. The foster parents he has now, they are beyond fantastic: attentive, the perfect representation of parents and caring. I didn't quite understand why Charlie did not see how bad they wanted him to be part of the family, like for real, with Charlie believing it.

It was so sweet how he thought of Wren and how he's in love with her, to the point of not considering himself good enough for Wren. Not saying for a girl like Wren, because he thinks that Wren is unique. Isn't that sweet?

However their story is not about how Wren struggles to get Wren. Their story is about meeting a person you like or that you want to be with and exploring the path of falling in love and the difficulties of making it last. Because when we all grow up, responsibility comes knowing on our door, and, sometimes, even though you have found the perfect person to spend your life with, we all have different paths to follow. For Wren is South-America, to help in a school. For Charlie is college.

Between Charlie's parents and Wren's parents? Definitely Charlie's. I wanted to slap Wren's father. Always making feel Wren bad for choosing for herself and reminding her what a bad daughter she was. And Wren's mom? Not better. She's so shocked that her daughter has something to say for the first time. She does not understand the sudden change and is more preoccupied by how she would face people at Wren's college than why her daughter is screaming inside.

Charlie's foster parents, on the other hand, are the definition of sweet. They take care of their kids and worry about them, although they are not their biological kids. They took care of Charlie and his brother, who's in a wheelchair. I cried for how good they were and how they took care of Dev. How they called them kids and wanted to be all a family and, above all, they respected the decisions of their kids and wanted what's best for them.

And which character made this book a memorable one? Dev, Charlie's brother. I truly cried when I read his story. He's in a wheelchair because when he was a baby his biological father punched him. Who does that? A heartless inhuman person. That broke my heart. But reading about some boys bullying him? To the point of setting fire to his legs? That's not funny. I hated them all and cried. A lot. I wanted to punch those guys myself. 

However, that's not the only reason that makes Dev be the One for me, in this story. He's such an amazing person and great guy that you want to be a better person. He always tries to be the bright side of things and tries to do something for his brother. He has had a second chance in life and has found a great family who loves him and takes care of him. And she's happy with it. 

Despite all of this, I was expecting more. I was eager to read this book. Definitely one of my more expected books. But felt a little bit disappointed in the end. I don't know. I was expecting a story that would really impress me, but it didn't. When it ended it was another story to remember, and I wanted more for The Infinite Moment Of Us. And I was also expecting a different ending. I had to make sure I was reading right, like five times. You cannot end a emotional book like that! (*My heart is still suffering, so maybe that's my emotions talking*). There was no happiness for me. I felt like I didn't know a thing about the main characters ending! Still asking myself: "But... yes or no? Please, somebody tell us the truth!"

That's why I'm giving this book a three and a half gorjuss dolls. With such a great plot, characters and a memorable and real story, I was expecting an impact, earth-shattering level, and didn't feel it. However, the story is a great one and I encourage all of you to read Ms. Myracle's novel, because reality comes knocking on our door, too, and Wren and Charlie's love story is not as different as our own story.

Lauren Myracle is the author of numerous young adult novels. She was born in 1969 in North Carolina. Lauren Myracle holds an MA in English from Colorado State University and an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College. she has written many novels, including the famous IM books, ttyl, ttfn, and l8r, g8r.

Her first novel, Kissing Kate, was selected as one of ALA's "Best Books for Young Adults" for the year 2004. It was named by Booklist as one of the "Top Ten Youth Romances" of the year, as well as one of the "Top Ten Books by New Writers." Her middle-grade novel, Eleven, came out 2004, followed by its YA sequels (Twelve, Thirteen, Thirteen Plus One) .