Twelve-year-old Kristina Kingsly feels like the most unpopular girl in her school. The kids all tease her, and she never seems to fit in. But when Kristina receives an unusual Christmas gift, she suddenly finds herself magically transported to the land of Bernovem, home of dwarfs, gnomes, fairies, talking animals and the evil Queen Sentiz. In Bernovem, Kristina not only fits in, she's honored as "the chosen one," the only one who can release the land from Queen Sentiz's control. But it's not as simple as it seems. To save Bernovem, she must place the gift she was given, the famous "Magic Warble," in its final resting place. She must travel through the deep forest, climb a treacherous mountain, and risk capture by the queen's "zelbocks" before she reaches her destination. Guided by her new fairy friends, Clover and Looper and by Prince Werrien, a teenage boy, and an assortment of other characters, Kristina sets off on a perilous journey that not only tests her strength but her heart. (Goodreads)
Currently, Bernovem is ruled by the tyrant Queen Sentiz. She knows Kristina is attempting to place the Magic Warble in its resting place and is bound and determined to kill Kristina and Werrien (the boy who is helping Kristina on her mission), take the Magic Warble, and destroy it, also destroying the only chance Bernovem has of being saved.
While this book was very exciting and kept me on the edge of my seat, it also really touched my heart, especially when dealing with certain matters near the end; however, I can’t say any more without giving away too much. I’ll be honest, I cried near the end, and I agree with my mom - she says, “You know you’ve read a great book when it brings out that kind of emotion in you.”
This book is absolutely wonderful - 5 stars! Victoria Simcox is incredibly talented. I enjoyed her writing thoroughly and adored all the characters! Fairies, gnomes, dwarfs, AND talking animals? I’m hooked! The cover also intrigued me… what a beautiful book! A spectacular read by a spectacular author, The Magic Warble is a new favorite of mine! I will most definitely be reading the sequel, The Black Shard, as soon as possible!
Thank you Katertot for allowing me to use your review in my post!
Q: What gave you the idea for a fantasy book like The Magic Warble and The Black Shard?
A: I remember I was sitting in the movie theater watching the first Harry Potter movie when I envisioned my main character, Kristina, walking down a snowy sidewalk. At the time that was all of story I had. I went home that night and wrote my first page not knowing where the story would go.
Q: If/When you have writers block what do you do?
A: I used to get writer's block, but
then I realized it came to me when I got too stressed out and felt like I was
pressured to write. I had to remind myself why I started writing to begin
with—because I enjoyed it, not because I had to; then I relaxed. If you are an
aspiring author and going through writer's block and feeling like there's nothing
you can come up with to write about, or your imagination has run dry, then take
a day off—go see a flick, or do something you enjoy to relax. You'll be
surprised how ideas come to you when you're in a happy relaxed state of mind.
Q: Are some characters harder to write than others?
A: No, I have a vivid picture of my
characters in my head which makes it not to difficult for me to form their
personalities. I think I draw a lot from people in my life. But I create a
character from different character traits of more than 1 person.
Q: If you could meet any person dead or alive...who would it
be?
A: C.S Lewis: His Chronicles of
Narnia have been such an inspiration to me. It would be so cool, say for
instance, to have lunch with him and pick his brain on how he came up with his
beloved stories.
Q: What do you prefer coffee, tea, soda, water...
A: I prefer coffee to tea and I
admit I'm pretty religious about having my coffee each morning and afternoon. I
try not to drink soda other than when I go out to eat or to a movie, then I
always have a diet coke. Eight glasses of water is my daily goal though I
rarely meet that goal it's more like 4 if that.
Check out Victoria's personal
blog @ www.victoriasimcox.blogspot.com
About Victoria:
Victoria was born in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, to an
Austrian immigrant mother, and a Dutch immigrant father. She now lives in
Western Washington with her husband, Russ and their three children, Toby,
Kristina, and William. Her other family members are a Chihuahua, named Pipsy
and two cats, named Frodo and Fritz. Besides being an author, Victoria is a home-schooling
mother of twelve years and an elementary school art teacher of eleven years. In
her spare time, Victoria enjoys managing her two older children's Celtic band.
She also loves writing, reading, painting watercolors, hiking, good movies, and
just simply hanging out with her family and friends.
Find Victoria:
Giveaway:
The author has generously provided 3 e-book copies of the book for an international giveaway! Just use the rafflecopter form below to enter for a chance to win one of the three copies! I hope you all enter and good luck!a Rafflecopter giveaway
Lovely post and great Q&A, sweets! Thank you so much for sharing Katertot's review. She's such a big fan of this series and this author! We won't enter since we have copies, but we'll definitely tweet the giveaway out for you! xoxoxo
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