Monday 17 July 2017

Blog Tour: Island of Lost Forevers by @Megan__Cutler #fantasy #giveaway

One of the first things everyone asks about a novel is: how did you get the idea for that?! Writers find inspiration in a lot of places; music, movies, overheard conversations in coffee shops and random stray thoughts that flit through our brains. But the idea for Island of Lost Forevers came from a dream.
It isn't uncommon for writers to expand their dreams into stories or novels. I keep an entire folder full of ideas that came from dreams stashed away on my hard drive for rainy days. In fact, my latest work in progress comes from a dream as well! As soon as you get in the habit of writing your dreams down, they become mini idea factories!
But I digress. The dream which spawned Island of Lost Forevers was a short series of scenes, which mostly included impressions and ideas, though I do remember two images vividly. The first was of one of those obstacle courses where you have to jump across a series of upturned logs, and in the background was this gorgeous jungle at the base of a majestic mountain. The second image was of an Asian monk sitting cross-legged, waiting expectantly for something.
The log obstacle course never made it to the final product, but the rest did! The mountain became the center of the island setting and the monk became the mysterious sorcerer Sentomoru.
But the plot grew out of the non-visual pieces of the dream that stuck with me. Basically two travelers (who eventually became the novel's main characters Catilen and Damian) visited an ancient place of magic where they encountered a mysterious sorcerer. Said sorcerer made off in the night with the female traveler and forced her male companion to complete three challenges in order to get her back.
Of course, for various reasons, I didn't want to do a 'kidnapping' plot, so after a discussion with my co-author, James, we turned it into an adventure type mystery instead. And instead of having Damian perform for the mysterious sorcerer, we created the Sorcerer's Duel.
But as any writer can tell you, it takes a lot of work to turn a dream sequence into an entire novel, and we had to ask a lot of questions to fill in the massive blanks. Such as who were these wayward travelers and where the heck did this island they were visiting come from? Of course you can find the answers to all those questions (and more) in the book!

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Is the island paradise or does a nightmare lurk beneath the surface?
When a mysterious island appears off the coast of San Francisco, two intrepid academics risk everything to discover its secrets. Catilen Taylor has struggled all her life with the ability to sense others' emotions. Damian Cooke studies an ancient art he calls 'magic.'
The island boasts an idyllic retreat, ruled by the enigmatic Sentomoru, who invites them to share the wonders of his bathhouse. But as the travelers strive to unravel the island's secrets, Catilen senses danger stalking their steps.
Neither Catilen nor Damian know how long the island will remain on Earth. If they can't solve its riddles quickly, they may be trapped wherever it goes when it vanishes.

GIVEAWAY
Megan grew up in a small town in central Pennsylvania where books offered an easy escape from the mundane life of a rural highway town. In 2003 she married the love of her life and moved to Canada. Megan started writing full-time in 2011 and has since published four novels and several short stories, including the Mystical Island Trilogy. Her characters keep her up late and wake her up early, but she loves them anyway. Learn more at megancutler.net, or connect to Megan via Facebook and Twitter.

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