Today’s Feature Friday is a tale of wonder, of dragons, and a fight for survival among a group of heroes. THE FALLEN STAR by Saffron Bryant is a story sure to pique readers’ interest (a sequel is in the works), and even more fascinating is the author’s own personal story, and why writing is important to her.
Genre:
Fantasy
Book Description:
The Fallen Star is the first book in the Lost Child Saga. It follows the epic tale of an unlikely band of heroes in their quest to find salvation for their people, as they teeter at the brink of extinction. The pages are filled with soaring dragons, adventure and insurmountable enemies. Laila, Sarin, Eros and Fervidious are forced to abandon their home to face destruction and death in order to save those they love. From humble beginnings these four champions are hurled into gladiatorial combat, pools of flesh-hungry mermaids and dark forests hungry for their bones. They must rely on their wits to stay alive but as they face each challenge they are unaware of the ultimate evil hiding in the shadows and nipping at their heels.
This first book of the series will have any lover of fantasy begging for more.
Author Interview
What are the Draconum, and what is their significance in the story?
The Draconum are a ‘race’ made up of two species- humans and dragons, where each human is paired with a dragon as a kind of life-companion. The main adventure of The Fallen Star features the Draconum and ultimately the success or failure of their quest relies on the bond between human and dragon.
Do you add to or put a different spin on dragons with Fallen Star?
The idea of dragons in The Fallen Star covers almost all aspects of ‘dragons’ as we know them. The concept behind the Draconum is that each dragon is as different from another as humans are from each other. So The Fallen Star features dragons of all shapes and sizes. The dragons in The Fallen Star also have personalities that range from the wise old dragons to the young and foolish. The idea being that the dragons grow and mature just as their human companions do.
Where did you get your idea for a fallen star that holds power?
A star falling to earth (or meteor, or comet or just about anything else), still holds a lot of majesty even in today’s modern world. Just look at the attention the recent meteorite over Russia received. The idea of something from another world falling to Earth sends the imagination souring and that was the first concept that lead to The Fallen Star.
How many books in this series can we expect?
This series is planned to be a trilogy, with the second book (The Herald of Darkness), being released later this year.
Besides your book sounding very fun to read, I also think your personal story is amazing. I’ve read that you study biomedical science, and that you have a love for The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Do you feel that your career or studies impact what you choose to read and write?
Many people find it strange that I study (just graduated), such a science-based degree and yet write in such a fanciful genre; but personally I look at it as having the best of both worlds. In my career/studies I use the science/logic side of my personality and when I write (or read) I’m free to use the creative side. I have also found that having studied science gives me a great advantage when writing science fiction (so keep an eye out for some of these in the future!).
You may also have read that I suffered some medical setbacks (namely a giant brain tumour), I’ve almost fully recovered now but I have found that going through that experience was what gave me the push to publish The Fallen Star in the first place. For many months I couldn’t stand up for very long and I had to take leave from uni, so in that time I turned back to writing and to finishing The Fallen Star. It was a terrifying time in my life but at least it gave me what I needed to finish and publish my first novel, and also the drive to write more.
Well I am very glad that you are still with us to share your stories and your unique perspective on things! Thanks, Saffron for stopping by.
Thank you very much for hosting me for your feature Friday!
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Buy THE FALLEN STAR @ Amazon