Virtual Name Before the Masses Tour for Stealing Magic by Alex C Vick

Stealing Magic

by Alex C Vick

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GENRE:   Middle Grade Fantasy

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BLURB:

Shannon thought there was no such thing as real magic. Until that day. The day that changed everything.

Put yourself in her shoes. Would you open your eyes, if you were the one that heard them? Two magic-takers from another world, arguing about whether they can collect what they came for before you wake up. It sounds like a crazy dream, or a practical joke.

But what if the air around you started to vibrate with an invisible force field? What if, all at once, it felt scary, yet familiar too? You would have no way of knowing that this discovery would set you on a path no-one from our world has taken for centuries. Towards a deadly enemy, and a fight you will almost certainly lose.

All you know is that your heart is beating so fast you're worried they will hear it, and your brain is starting to buzz as the force field reaches it. Would you open your eyes?

Join Jax and Shannon as they live through the most exciting and terrifying ten days of their lives!

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Excerpt Two:

“Why do you-?” started Shannon, at the same time that Jax said

“How did you-?”

They both laughed nervously.

“You go first,” said Jax. “I’ve got a feeling I need to answer a few of your questions first before you can be any help answering mine.”

“OK,” replied Shannon. “Why do you travel to my world and steal its magic?” she began.

“Steal?” replied Jax, shocked. “Stealing magic is not what we do. We harvest it.”

“You steal it,” retorted Shannon. “If it’s not stealing, why do you only do it in secret? And why does no-one on my world seem to know that it’s happening?”

“Exactly!” said Jax. “If you don’t know it’s happening, and you don’t even know the magic is there in the first place, and you don’t miss it when it’s gone, how can it be stealing?

Besides, it has always been this way. For hundreds of years magic-takers have travelled from Androva to Terra to harvest its magic.”

“You still haven’t answered my question anyway,” said Shannon, crossing her arms. “Why do you do it?”

Jax shifted in his seat, and looked out of the window.

“I don’t exactly know why,” he mumbled.

“What?” said Shannon.

“I don’t know why!” repeated Jax, more loudly. His cheeks went a little red, and he scuffed his shoe along the floor.

“I am not permitted to know until I am of age. I only know that it has something to do with a very old Treaty, and that it’s a really bad thing if Androva doesn’t harvest its full magic Quota each month.”

   

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Alex writes contemporary fantasy books for a middle grade audience and older. There are three (self-contained) stories in the Legacy of Androva series so far, with a fourth on the way. You can contact Alex, and find more information about Androva, including a character interview, at http://www.alexcvick.com

Alex lives in the South of England with her husband and two daughters. When she's not working, or writing about magic, she also loves reading and photography.

Stealing Magic Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LXQEPYR

Stealing Magic Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01LXQEPYR

Stealing Magic will be $0.99 during the tour.
Interview with Alex C Vick

1. What is your favorite part of this book and why?

It’s always so difficult to choose a favorite part! I write because I love it, which means that I deliberately choose stories and settings that appeal to me. But in order to avoid spoilers, I’ll pick a scene near the beginning of the book, at the end of the third chapter. It’s the moment when Jax opens the portal again to meet Shannon properly. Everything else that happens to them becomes possible because of that one moment. She realizes that she’s not imagining this, and more than that, she dares to find out more.

It’s uncharted territory for both of them. Jax isn’t used to being at a disadvantage, and Shannon isn’t used to taking risks. And of course, the fact that she’s just become a magician is a pretty big life change as well!

2. If you could spend time with a character from your book whom would it be? And what would you do during that day?

My thirteen-year-old self would jump at the chance to spend the day with Shannon, so that I could see Androva as if I were a brand new underage magician. I’ve obviously written about it, and I have quite a vivid picture inside my head, but actually stepping through a portal and attending the Seminary of Magic would be brilliant.

Highlights would be projecting the Solo Transference spell, seeing a Sygnus close up, meeting Jax and Darius, and hopefully playing Time Trial!

3. If you could have been the author of any book ever written, which book would you choose?

Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings. The characters, their story, and the world they inhabit have captured the imaginations of millions. There are so many layers and details, and every reader discovers something different. Even if you take away all the high fantasy elements, the underlying battle between good and evil is incredibly compelling. His writing has influenced so much of what has been created in the fantasy genre since then. Not just in books, but in gaming and films too.

And Tolkein was so humble about his masterpiece. This is from a letter he wrote in 1955, after the trilogy was first published. “Nothing has astonished me more (and I think my publishers) than the welcome given to The Lord of the Rings.”

4. Are your characters based off real people or did they all come entirely from your imagination?

From my imagination, at least as far as I am aware! Sometimes the characters turn up in my head and I feel like I know them already. Other times I discover them as I’m writing. In Stealing Magic, for example, I knew exactly what Jax and Shannon were going to be like as soon as I thought of them. Darius, however, was more of a surprise. But the great thing about writing a series is that I can revisit characters when I’m curious to know a bit more about them!

However, if someone in my real life makes a memorable comment, be it funny or thought-provoking, I do occasionally give that comment to one of my characters.

5. What made you want to become a writer?

I wanted to become a writer because I love reading so much. The thought of being there at the moment when the page was still blank, choosing the words that might, if I were lucky, create a different world for other readers to discover… I thought that would be amazing. And it is. Of course, it’s also hard work and more than a little scary, but nothing worth having is ever easy! Those moments of amazement continue to make it all worthwhile, and I love writing so much.

Thank you very much to Teresa for featuring my book, and also for the interesting questions. I really enjoyed the interview!

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

Alex C Vick will be awarding a $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway