Y is for The Young Sorcerers Guild series by G.L. Breedon

 

For 2013's A to Z Challenge, I am talking about book series, particularly some favorite series as well as series I've been waiting to read for a LONG time.

Y is for ... The Young Sorcerers Guild series by G.L. Breedon

I read the first book of a different series by G.L. Breedon, and this series has been on my to-read list for way too long. I hope to read The Dark Shadow of Spring soon.

A dragon that foretells destinies, streets suddenly cluttered with thousands of dead birds, a plague of malevolent insects, ghosts arising in the town cemetery, demons haunting the woods of the White Forest —these are only some of the dangers that thirteen year old Alex Ravenstar and his friends in The Young Sorcerer’s Guild must overcome in order save the secluded magical town of Runewood from an ancient soul-enslaving evil in The Dark Shadow of Spring.

After a nearly disastrous adventure to wake the local dragon from its hibernation in hopes that it will tell them their destinies, Alex and his friends accidentally encounter the dark force that was responsible for burning the magic out of the world beyond the Rune Valley thousands of years ago. Known as the Shadow Wraith, the evil force was cast from this world and imprisoned in another realm at the end of the war fought to stop it. Once again, the Shadow Wraith is trying to escape its prison to enslave the world and Alex and the Young Sorcerer's Guild are the only ones who can defeat it.

Interview with G.L. Breedon, author of THE WIZARD OF TIME

Today I would like to welcome G.L. Breedon to the blog. He's the author of The Wizard of Time. A fantastic YA Fantasy novel. You can read my review here.

How long did it take you from idea to publishing your novel?

About three and a half years ago, I had a dream where I was in a bookstore and some kids were looking at a series of books, so I wandered over checked the covers. I discovered the books were by me and that they were about time travel and magic. I figured a dream like that was a good omen, so I spent a few weeks daydreaming the story into existence and then six months working on the notes before I began writing. Then I spent another six months editing it down, because I had over written.  After two and a half years of trying to interest an agent or a publisher, I decided to publish it myself.

Wow, that's an awesome omen to write. Are you a plotter or pantser?

I plot. Then I re-plot. Then I wait and think, and re-plot again. Then I start writing and re-plot one more time after I see how things are developing. I’m a big believer in plotting in advance of writing, especially for a time travel novel where what happens and when it happens is crucial to being able to understand the story. I also think plotting the story out before writing helps in figuring out the flow of the action and allows me to determine when to slow things down and spend some time on character development and when to pick up the pace and get back to the central conflict of the story.  

What are you writing now or have forthcoming?

I have another YA fantasy novel coming out in the beginning of October called The Dark Shadow of Spring (The Young Sorcerers Guild – Book 1). It’s about a group of young mages in a secluded valley where magic still works and the adventures they have confronting an ancient soul-enslaving evil known as the Shadow Wraith. I’ve written a sequel to it and I am currently working of the sequel to The Wizard of Time. I also have a YA sci-fi novel that I’m editing with hopes of releasing sometime next year.

Congrats for your newest book! I always find it interesting to learn what other authors are reading. If you could recommend a book—not your own—what book would that be?

One book? Just one? Wow. That’s hard. The first one that comes to mind is Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay. It’s an amazing novel. It is so well written and so well told that I am overcome with artistic jealousy every time I think about it. It’s rare to find a fantasy novel these days that isn’t part of a series and Tigana is one of the few novels where I found myself desperately wishing that it did have a sequel.  

Wow, I haven't heard of that one and it is really rare to find a fantasy book without a series attached. 

Thank you for joining us!

Title: The Wizard of Time (Book 1)
Author: G.L. Breedon
Publisher: Kosmosaic Books
Release: July 21, 2011
Length: 295 pages (101,000 words)
Age Group:  Young Adult
Website
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THE WIZARD OF TIME by G.L. Breedon

Title: The Wizard of Time (Book 1)

Author: G.L. Breedon

Publisher: Kosmosaic Books

Format: eBook

Source: Author

To Purchase: Amazon  Barnes & Noble  Smashwords

Description: Thirteen-year-old Gabriel Salvador has dreams about the future and his dreams always come true. When he dreams one night that he will drown, he knows upon waking it is only a matter of time before his dream becomes reality.

Plucked from the timeline of history at the moment of his death, Gabriel becomes an apprentice time mage and part of an elite team of wizards who travel throughout history to fight the War of Time and Magic.

Victorian London, the Aztec temples of 1487, the Greek island of Samos in 320 BCE, Scotland in the Middle Ages, and the battle fields of Alexander the Great are only some of the adventures in time that await Gabriel as he learns to become a time mage and joins the battle to protect the timeline of history in THE WIZARD OF TIME.

Review: G.L. Breedon’s The Wizard of Time swirls magical realism throughout time and space.

The day Gabriel Salvador dies is the day he finds his place within the world. Gabriel is a Time Mage, but he’s more special than any of them realize. He and his group of mages travel throughout time to stop the evil wizards who want to destroy the Primary Continuum. When he realizes he’s a part of a prophecy, he must find balance between the light and dark, or lose himself for all time.

The Wizard of Time’s greatest strength is in its characters. Each one is a three-dimensional individual living their lives in many shades of gray. I love the camaraderie between friends. Six magics are used that are familiar but Breedon takes them to a higher level. Although the beginning starts out a bit cliché, Breedon sucked me into Gabriel’s world. The plot is sometimes a bit predictable but enjoyable. I love the history and cultures interspersed throughout. The Malignancy Mages are fantastically complicated villains. This novel explores the philosophical musings of light and dark, good and evil. The time travel scenes are awesome and well-thought out.

The Wizard of Time by G.L. Breedon is a wonderful fantasy novel geared towards young adults but a great read for all. I can’t wait to read book two.