The Enchanted Bookstore Legends are about Lyra McCauley, a woman destined to become one of five strong women in her family who possess unique magical abilities and serve as Scribes in Dragonspeir. The Scribes span a long history, dating from 1200 to present day. Each Scribe is expected to journey through Dragonspeir, both the good and evil factions, then draft a written account. Each book contains magic with vast implications.
Lyra was first introduced to Dragonspeir as a young girl, when she met the high sorcerer, Cullen Drake, through a gift of one of those enchanted books. Using its magic, he escorted her into the parallel world of Dragonspeir. Years later, she lost that volume and forgot the world and Cullen. These legends begin where he finds her again—she is thirty-five, standing in his enchanted bookstore, and Dragonspeir needs her.
When Lyra reopens that enchanted book, she confronts a series of quests where she is expected to save the good Alliance from destruction by the evil Black Dragon. While learning about her role, Lyra and Cullen fall in love. He is 220 years old and kept alive by Dragonspeir magic. Cullen will die if Dragonspeir is taken over by the evil faction…Lyra becomes the Scribe.
Lyra was first introduced to Dragonspeir as a young girl, when she met the high sorcerer, Cullen Drake, through a gift of one of those enchanted books. Using its magic, he escorted her into the parallel world of Dragonspeir. Years later, she lost that volume and forgot the world and Cullen. These legends begin where he finds her again—she is thirty-five, standing in his enchanted bookstore, and Dragonspeir needs her.
When Lyra reopens that enchanted book, she confronts a series of quests where she is expected to save the good Alliance from destruction by the evil Black Dragon. While learning about her role, Lyra and Cullen fall in love. He is 220 years old and kept alive by Dragonspeir magic. Cullen will die if Dragonspeir is taken over by the evil faction…Lyra becomes the Scribe.
Book title: Quintessence: Enchanted Bookstore Legend Five
Genre: epic fantasy romance
Synopsis:
Barbaric Dark Realm warfare threatens to overtake all Dragonspeir lands, including the Alliance. Lyra McCauley, the fifth Scribe of the Alliance, finds herself in a desperate competition to gather four missing keystones. Those amulets of the four natural elements guarantee victory for the side possessing them. The Dark Realm’s alchemist, Eburscon, beats her to finding the water gem, the Pearl of Pendola. Three more keystones remain: the fluorite containing earth energy, the moonstone of the sky, and the fiery, dangerous Emtori Ruby.
The powerful gems, stolen centuries ago, channel astral energies and can restore much-needed Alliance power—the last hope. The wizard, Cullen, who is Lyra’s beloved, relies on Alliance magic for his immortality and will perish if the land falls to the Dark Realm.
Lyra uses her rare magical energies of quintessence and the Staurolite, governor of the four natural elements, to guide her to the hidden keystones. However, greed and power drive opponents, who challenge her in close pursuit, planning to destroy the Alliance, or to claim the power of quintessence for themselves.
The Dark Realm captures the ten-year-old Alliance seer, Kessa. Her abilities can give them information about the locations of the keystones, complicating Lyra’s plans. Will her love, allegiance, and quintessence allow her to save Cullen, Kessa, and the Alliance before the Dark Realm claims all of Dragonspeir?
Publish date: December, 2013 · Publisher: Marsha A. Moore
Genre: epic fantasy romance
Synopsis:
Barbaric Dark Realm warfare threatens to overtake all Dragonspeir lands, including the Alliance. Lyra McCauley, the fifth Scribe of the Alliance, finds herself in a desperate competition to gather four missing keystones. Those amulets of the four natural elements guarantee victory for the side possessing them. The Dark Realm’s alchemist, Eburscon, beats her to finding the water gem, the Pearl of Pendola. Three more keystones remain: the fluorite containing earth energy, the moonstone of the sky, and the fiery, dangerous Emtori Ruby.
The powerful gems, stolen centuries ago, channel astral energies and can restore much-needed Alliance power—the last hope. The wizard, Cullen, who is Lyra’s beloved, relies on Alliance magic for his immortality and will perish if the land falls to the Dark Realm.
Lyra uses her rare magical energies of quintessence and the Staurolite, governor of the four natural elements, to guide her to the hidden keystones. However, greed and power drive opponents, who challenge her in close pursuit, planning to destroy the Alliance, or to claim the power of quintessence for themselves.
The Dark Realm captures the ten-year-old Alliance seer, Kessa. Her abilities can give them information about the locations of the keystones, complicating Lyra’s plans. Will her love, allegiance, and quintessence allow her to save Cullen, Kessa, and the Alliance before the Dark Realm claims all of Dragonspeir?
Publish date: December, 2013 · Publisher: Marsha A. Moore
Kasper: Thanks for dropping by Marsha. I'd just like to ask a few questions about your epic fantasy series. When did you start writing and why?
I’ve followed a circuitous path to end up as a fiction writer. I graduated with a degree in Biology, minoring in English. I wanted to pursue Literature and Fine Art, but my parents encouraged me to study Biology, so I might eventually find a reliable job. That was fine, since I liked that subject also. I wrote essays as a fun break from my full load of Science. Yes, weird that I thought writing essays was fun…still do! Then, I headed into grad school studying Dentistry. Four years later, I decided, although I was excelling, it just wasn’t my calling. I changed gears and taught high school Biology for seventeen years, getting my Masters in Secondary Education.
Along the way, I picked up a hobby of writing music reviews for record companies. During that time, I was inspired by some of those experiences and tinkered with fiction. Initially, I wrote fiction based on the world of rock music. Through a lucky happenstance, a man who worked for a major book publishing house read my first attempts at fiction, which were posted on a music forum. He repeatedly encouraged me to submit my creative writing to publishers. Over time, I came to believe him and did. After that, a new world opened up and it’s been a wonderful time.
Kasper: You certainly seem to have a calling for it, Marsha.
What’s the story behind your book title?
It’s basically a fantasy lover’s dream—from an enchanted bookstore, being able to step into a favorite book as a character. I know my initial inspiration came after watching the recent Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland movie. From that, I wanted to work with parallel worlds and have a heroine who must save the fantasy world from danger.
I envisioned a series with the magical complexities of the Harry Potter world, but for grown-ups, with characters who faced more complicated life issues. I had strong opinions about choosing my heroine’s age. I wanted her to have experienced enough hard times to be able to truly appreciate true love, honor, courage, fairness, all that is good. In this way, she can truly commit to whatever obstacles lie in the path to happiness. She knows herself and is determined. As the series progresses, I admire her strength.
I’ve followed a circuitous path to end up as a fiction writer. I graduated with a degree in Biology, minoring in English. I wanted to pursue Literature and Fine Art, but my parents encouraged me to study Biology, so I might eventually find a reliable job. That was fine, since I liked that subject also. I wrote essays as a fun break from my full load of Science. Yes, weird that I thought writing essays was fun…still do! Then, I headed into grad school studying Dentistry. Four years later, I decided, although I was excelling, it just wasn’t my calling. I changed gears and taught high school Biology for seventeen years, getting my Masters in Secondary Education.
Along the way, I picked up a hobby of writing music reviews for record companies. During that time, I was inspired by some of those experiences and tinkered with fiction. Initially, I wrote fiction based on the world of rock music. Through a lucky happenstance, a man who worked for a major book publishing house read my first attempts at fiction, which were posted on a music forum. He repeatedly encouraged me to submit my creative writing to publishers. Over time, I came to believe him and did. After that, a new world opened up and it’s been a wonderful time.
Kasper: You certainly seem to have a calling for it, Marsha.
What’s the story behind your book title?
It’s basically a fantasy lover’s dream—from an enchanted bookstore, being able to step into a favorite book as a character. I know my initial inspiration came after watching the recent Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland movie. From that, I wanted to work with parallel worlds and have a heroine who must save the fantasy world from danger.
I envisioned a series with the magical complexities of the Harry Potter world, but for grown-ups, with characters who faced more complicated life issues. I had strong opinions about choosing my heroine’s age. I wanted her to have experienced enough hard times to be able to truly appreciate true love, honor, courage, fairness, all that is good. In this way, she can truly commit to whatever obstacles lie in the path to happiness. She knows herself and is determined. As the series progresses, I admire her strength.
Kasper: You have such an amazing cast of characters. Which is your favourite character and why?
This is a truly epic tale with a large and wonderful cast of otherworldly characters, including many talking animals and trees. My main characters, Lyra and Cullen, must attempt difficulties that stretch their abilities and test their love for each other over numerous quests. But my secondary characters often bring laughter and lighten the couple’s load, or encourage their strength to persevere. Kenzo, a giant tiger owl, and Noba, a pseudodragon, are among my favorites, and the readers’ also. Their innocence is charming as they draw out deeper emotions from everyone.
An extra note about pseudodragons—they’re not true dragons, being much smaller, only three feet long. In my legends, we get to know Noba, the pseudodragon Cullen keeps as his wizard’s familiar—a typical role for this species. Noba has a heart of gold that makes people melt. He always manages to find some mischief. I smile thinking about how he helped Lyra raise a dragon hatchling. She had no idea what to do with a baby dragon. I’ve had many readers tell me they want a pseudodragon of their own! Me too!
Kasper: I like the little dragon too. I also think that Kessa was one of my favourites. Despite her handicap and imprisonment, she never gives up hope.
Have you used any real people in your characters and which one of your characters would you like to be?
Reality always forms the framework of my stories. The more I look at this series, the more of myself I see. My heroine, Lyra, is very much connected to me. Even in the first chapter of the first book, the childhood memories brought to her mind by Cullen’s magical tea are actually all mine. How Lyra interacts with her Aunt Jean has been a way for me to work through my own issues with my mother’s failing health and passing. Some scenes intentionally connect to my own experiences, like those, and others surprise me much later when I’m polishing my draft to send to my editor.
This is a truly epic tale with a large and wonderful cast of otherworldly characters, including many talking animals and trees. My main characters, Lyra and Cullen, must attempt difficulties that stretch their abilities and test their love for each other over numerous quests. But my secondary characters often bring laughter and lighten the couple’s load, or encourage their strength to persevere. Kenzo, a giant tiger owl, and Noba, a pseudodragon, are among my favorites, and the readers’ also. Their innocence is charming as they draw out deeper emotions from everyone.
An extra note about pseudodragons—they’re not true dragons, being much smaller, only three feet long. In my legends, we get to know Noba, the pseudodragon Cullen keeps as his wizard’s familiar—a typical role for this species. Noba has a heart of gold that makes people melt. He always manages to find some mischief. I smile thinking about how he helped Lyra raise a dragon hatchling. She had no idea what to do with a baby dragon. I’ve had many readers tell me they want a pseudodragon of their own! Me too!
Kasper: I like the little dragon too. I also think that Kessa was one of my favourites. Despite her handicap and imprisonment, she never gives up hope.
Have you used any real people in your characters and which one of your characters would you like to be?
Reality always forms the framework of my stories. The more I look at this series, the more of myself I see. My heroine, Lyra, is very much connected to me. Even in the first chapter of the first book, the childhood memories brought to her mind by Cullen’s magical tea are actually all mine. How Lyra interacts with her Aunt Jean has been a way for me to work through my own issues with my mother’s failing health and passing. Some scenes intentionally connect to my own experiences, like those, and others surprise me much later when I’m polishing my draft to send to my editor.
Kasper: I was wondering about that: thirtyish, long blonde hair..looks a little like yourself. :-)
What are you working on now?
After the super-interwoven plot of a 5-part, high fantasy epic series, I’m looking forward to shifting gears a bit. I’m excited to be working on a few magical realism books, a slightly different fantasy subgenre. The next release will be a paranormal mystery set in a yoga studio. I’m eager to work with new parameters of magical realism—a more character driven plot than I’ve done before.
Kasper : Wow, that sounds cool. Can't wait to hear more.
What do you do when you have writers’ block?
I generally take a ride around the saltwater lagoon from our backyard dock. The methodical paddling opens my mind to new ways to solve plot problems.
Kasper: Now that does sound relaxing. Getting back to nature must be a great muse.
I really like your cover artwork, especially the familiars in Lost Volumes. Who did them for you?
I enjoy doing my own cover art. I’ve done drawings and watercolour paintings for years. The covers for the Enchanted Bookstore Legends include my own creations for the character images. They begin with a pencil drawing, followed by simple watercolour washes, then hours photoshop painting to make the images come alive against the backgrounds.
Kasper: Wow, you are very creative!
What type of books do you like to read? Who are your favourite authors?
There are so many. Magical realism books like The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen and Practical Magic and The Green Witch by Alice Hoffman are delicately woven with the most sparkling magic. Other books that captivate me are Natasha Mostert’s Season of the Witch and Erin Morgenstern’s Night Circus. In both of those, magic caused mental effects for both the giver and receiver. I enjoy the complexity of that theme and employ it myself in a very different way. In the Enchanted Bookstore Legends, my heroine, Lyra, must learn to mentally control her vast inherited powers as the new Scribe. That is something she struggles to master through the series.
What are you working on now?
After the super-interwoven plot of a 5-part, high fantasy epic series, I’m looking forward to shifting gears a bit. I’m excited to be working on a few magical realism books, a slightly different fantasy subgenre. The next release will be a paranormal mystery set in a yoga studio. I’m eager to work with new parameters of magical realism—a more character driven plot than I’ve done before.
Kasper : Wow, that sounds cool. Can't wait to hear more.
What do you do when you have writers’ block?
I generally take a ride around the saltwater lagoon from our backyard dock. The methodical paddling opens my mind to new ways to solve plot problems.
Kasper: Now that does sound relaxing. Getting back to nature must be a great muse.
I really like your cover artwork, especially the familiars in Lost Volumes. Who did them for you?
I enjoy doing my own cover art. I’ve done drawings and watercolour paintings for years. The covers for the Enchanted Bookstore Legends include my own creations for the character images. They begin with a pencil drawing, followed by simple watercolour washes, then hours photoshop painting to make the images come alive against the backgrounds.
Kasper: Wow, you are very creative!
What type of books do you like to read? Who are your favourite authors?
There are so many. Magical realism books like The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen and Practical Magic and The Green Witch by Alice Hoffman are delicately woven with the most sparkling magic. Other books that captivate me are Natasha Mostert’s Season of the Witch and Erin Morgenstern’s Night Circus. In both of those, magic caused mental effects for both the giver and receiver. I enjoy the complexity of that theme and employ it myself in a very different way. In the Enchanted Bookstore Legends, my heroine, Lyra, must learn to mentally control her vast inherited powers as the new Scribe. That is something she struggles to master through the series.
Kasper: What is your favourite quote?
"They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night." ~Edgar Allan Poe
“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living.” ~Dr. Seuss
Kasper: Do you have a blog? What do you write about in your blog?
I blog about fantasy fiction. I enjoy writing flash fiction for my blog, a popular series called Tea Leaf Tales. The tiny stories are only ten sentences in length and usually follow speculative fiction or magical realism genres.
Kasper: That sounds interesting. What do you enjoy doing when you’re not writing?
I enjoy gardening, knitting, kayaking, and reading. My husband and I live on a large saltwater lagoon outside of Tampa. I kayak from our dock and make regular visits to talk with the brown pelicans. Reading or knitting while relaxing in the lanai is a real treat too.
Kasper: That sounds heavenly. Where do you like to travel to?
We’ve been able to do some traveling lately and are looking forward to a cruise around the Black Aegean Seas. Seeing the old summer palaces of the tsars’ sounds incredible. My mind drifts to the romantic summer home in Dr. Zhivago—one of my favorite movies.
Kasper: Sounds sweet.
I had trouble going back to the character descriptions on my Kindle. Do you prefer ebook or hardcopy?
I prefer reading fiction in ebook and references in hard copy. It’s easier to flip back and forth using a hard copy.
Kasper: What’s your dream job and do you think you’ll do it one day?
I’m doing my dream job now. I don’t think I’d change anything in my immediate life. All the past happy times and hardships have helped me know myself more deeply and to be more compassionate toward others. I value each step and each lesson along my path. I feel fulfilled being able to share those experiences with my readers.
Kasper: You're one lucky gal! Thanks so much for your insights Marsha.
There's a list of links below for everyone to check our Marsha A. Moore's work and connect with her.
Blog: http://MarshaAMoore.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/marshaamooreauthorpage
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/marshaamoore
Twitter: http://twitter.com/MarshaAMoore
Amazon: amazon.com/author/marshaamoore
http://pinterest.com/marshaamoore/
http://google.com/+MarshaAMoore
"They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night." ~Edgar Allan Poe
“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living.” ~Dr. Seuss
Kasper: Do you have a blog? What do you write about in your blog?
I blog about fantasy fiction. I enjoy writing flash fiction for my blog, a popular series called Tea Leaf Tales. The tiny stories are only ten sentences in length and usually follow speculative fiction or magical realism genres.
Kasper: That sounds interesting. What do you enjoy doing when you’re not writing?
I enjoy gardening, knitting, kayaking, and reading. My husband and I live on a large saltwater lagoon outside of Tampa. I kayak from our dock and make regular visits to talk with the brown pelicans. Reading or knitting while relaxing in the lanai is a real treat too.
Kasper: That sounds heavenly. Where do you like to travel to?
We’ve been able to do some traveling lately and are looking forward to a cruise around the Black Aegean Seas. Seeing the old summer palaces of the tsars’ sounds incredible. My mind drifts to the romantic summer home in Dr. Zhivago—one of my favorite movies.
Kasper: Sounds sweet.
I had trouble going back to the character descriptions on my Kindle. Do you prefer ebook or hardcopy?
I prefer reading fiction in ebook and references in hard copy. It’s easier to flip back and forth using a hard copy.
Kasper: What’s your dream job and do you think you’ll do it one day?
I’m doing my dream job now. I don’t think I’d change anything in my immediate life. All the past happy times and hardships have helped me know myself more deeply and to be more compassionate toward others. I value each step and each lesson along my path. I feel fulfilled being able to share those experiences with my readers.
Kasper: You're one lucky gal! Thanks so much for your insights Marsha.
There's a list of links below for everyone to check our Marsha A. Moore's work and connect with her.
Blog: http://MarshaAMoore.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/marshaamooreauthorpage
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/marshaamoore
Twitter: http://twitter.com/MarshaAMoore
Amazon: amazon.com/author/marshaamoore
http://pinterest.com/marshaamoore/
http://google.com/+MarshaAMoore
Kasper's review of Quintessence
Adventures with dragons are my favourite books to read and this one's a beauty. Quintessence is the fifth and final of Marsha's Enchanted Bookstore Legends. It's the first one I've read and it's full of magic, dragons, quests and battles.
The author immerses you in the fantastical world of Dragonspeir which is entered through enchanted books in a modern day Indianapolis bookstore. Lyra and Cullen are magical lovers who are on a quest to return four missing keystones to the Alliance and defend against the Dark Realm.
I certainly had some catching up to do, being given this fifth book to review. Cullen is a wizard and Lyra is a scribe, which seem fairly similar to me, but use different kinds of magic. Lyra has Quintessence, which is very rare. You'll have to forgive my ignorance, as I'm sure this is well described in the earlier books. Kessa is a 10 year old seer who has been imprisoned by the bad guys and is in need of rescue.
I must admit I got a bit lost in the hosts of magical creatures and was thankful for the descriptions at the start of the book. Here are a few of the many weird and wonderful creatures: malificates; black dragons; cimafa - small dragons; circutamina - tree spirits; witches; alchemists; fire drakes - like dragons; golden dragons; guardians; magma drakes; psuedodrgaons; a warlord; an auspex; scorpents - scorpion snakes; magical locust; sorcerors; skeleton-people; blue dragons; bronze dragons ;talking phoenix, tortoise, trees and unicorn. There are also wizard familiars such as an owl and a psuedodragon. Wow! I wish I had a hard-cover book, because my Kindle wouldn't let me skip back and forth to the descriptions.
The magic and characters have coloured auras, some colours are good and some bad. The lead characters have a very cool communication stone and can speak telepathically. Other magical elements used included the craft of fascination and bloodswear bond.
Intricate characters and magic aside, this is a great story and builds towards an exciting battle with (you guessed it) lots of awesome dragons. Will the young seer be saved, or will the scribe need saving herself? You'll have to read it to discover the outcome of this epic series.
I rate this book 4 stars and definitely recommended it for fantasy and adventure lovers.
One last note, is that the book is promoted as a fantasy romance, but there's not a lot of romance here so I would classify it as fantasy adventure. The romance part is not for children.
Adventures with dragons are my favourite books to read and this one's a beauty. Quintessence is the fifth and final of Marsha's Enchanted Bookstore Legends. It's the first one I've read and it's full of magic, dragons, quests and battles.
The author immerses you in the fantastical world of Dragonspeir which is entered through enchanted books in a modern day Indianapolis bookstore. Lyra and Cullen are magical lovers who are on a quest to return four missing keystones to the Alliance and defend against the Dark Realm.
I certainly had some catching up to do, being given this fifth book to review. Cullen is a wizard and Lyra is a scribe, which seem fairly similar to me, but use different kinds of magic. Lyra has Quintessence, which is very rare. You'll have to forgive my ignorance, as I'm sure this is well described in the earlier books. Kessa is a 10 year old seer who has been imprisoned by the bad guys and is in need of rescue.
I must admit I got a bit lost in the hosts of magical creatures and was thankful for the descriptions at the start of the book. Here are a few of the many weird and wonderful creatures: malificates; black dragons; cimafa - small dragons; circutamina - tree spirits; witches; alchemists; fire drakes - like dragons; golden dragons; guardians; magma drakes; psuedodrgaons; a warlord; an auspex; scorpents - scorpion snakes; magical locust; sorcerors; skeleton-people; blue dragons; bronze dragons ;talking phoenix, tortoise, trees and unicorn. There are also wizard familiars such as an owl and a psuedodragon. Wow! I wish I had a hard-cover book, because my Kindle wouldn't let me skip back and forth to the descriptions.
The magic and characters have coloured auras, some colours are good and some bad. The lead characters have a very cool communication stone and can speak telepathically. Other magical elements used included the craft of fascination and bloodswear bond.
Intricate characters and magic aside, this is a great story and builds towards an exciting battle with (you guessed it) lots of awesome dragons. Will the young seer be saved, or will the scribe need saving herself? You'll have to read it to discover the outcome of this epic series.
I rate this book 4 stars and definitely recommended it for fantasy and adventure lovers.
One last note, is that the book is promoted as a fantasy romance, but there's not a lot of romance here so I would classify it as fantasy adventure. The romance part is not for children.
