Moonscript Blog Tour: Spotlights!

Hey'a, everyone! As promised, I'm joining up with the blog tour for Moonscript, H.S.J. Williams's magnificent new novel. I am SO EXCITED that it's here and I not only get to read it, but I also get to yell about it to all of you. Today, I'm going to tell you a little bit about the book and why I love it. (It's not a full review, mind you, just some quick points — go hit up my other blog for my full thoughts.) I'm also going to share about some of my favorite characters in the book because I didn't get to do all the Instagram/FB character spotlights I hoped. It's going to be great. But first, the official word on the book and author:

About . . .

The Book

"It is said that Darkness is empty and whatever vanishes into its depths is lost forever. I know this better than anyone. For I have suffered here in the shadows, and there are none who might find me."

Seventy years. Seventy years the elven prince has been lost to the darkness, assumed dead by his people and endlessly broken for a book that connects to the hidden realm of his ancestors, a land untouched by evil.

And now a light in the shadows. A chance for freedom. But those willing to help him come from the unlikeliest of worlds.

The orphan girl, yearning for a loving family, and the boy who won't leave her side. A healer maiden given an unexpected chance for a life beyond narrowed expectations. A grieving creature flown far from home.

They all search for something and now their fates are tied to his. If their quest for life can pull him from the dark mire in which his soul drowns, then perhaps he can be saved.

Or else he will drag them all down to a fate worse than death.
The beginning of an epic saga, MOONSCRIPT is a journey of innocence, despair, and redemption.

Seven illustrations by the author exclusively included in the paperback edition! 

 Find it on: Amazon || Kindle || Barnes & Noble || Book Depository || Goodreads

The Author

From the beginning, H. S. J. Williams has loved stories and all the forms they take. Whether with word, art, or costume, she has always been fascinated with the magic of imagination. She lives in a real fantastical kingdom, the beautiful Pacific Northwest, with her very own array of animal friends and royally loving family. Williams taught Fantasy Illustration at MSOA. She may also be a part-time elf.

Find her on: Art Page || Instagram || Facebook || Pinterest

Quick Thoughts on Moonscript

• Moonscript feels like a combination of The Silmarillion, The Tales of Goldstone Wood, and The Songkeeper Chronicles. It's awesome.
• On that note, I feel like you can definitely tell that the author is a Silmarillion nerd and not just a Lord of the Rings nerd. The influences of both are evident, but yeah. (I mean, technically she's a general Tolkien fan, but I digress.)
• The book is very focused on family and friend relationships, which I absolutely love.
• The book's spiritual elements are handled super well. I don't think I've read a book where overlap between the spiritual and physical felt so natural since Goldstone Wood and Karac Tor.
• It's just a really good book, ok? Read it.

Favorite Character Spotlights!

All art is by the author; please appreciate how gorgeous it is. She's legit one of my favorite artists I know. I have some of her art as my phone wallpaper and lock screen just so I can look at it periodically and appreciate the beauty and the fact that I know such an amazingly talented person.

 

Errance is the main character and our resident Tortured Elf Prince and Slightly Burnt Cinnamon Roll. He's an actual disaster and a hot mess, but I love him. For one thing, though he does get a little angsty, he has good reason — he has truly magnificent amounts of trauma, poor baby. But his character arc is so satisfying, and so is watching him develop friendships and other relationships with various other characters. Also, it's a weird sort of refreshing to have truly justified angst.

Tryss is another major character and the one I think I would get along with best out of everyone in this book. She's the mum-friend, but she also has a well-developed sense of and desire for adventure. She's practical, but with an appreciation for the wonderful and strange and beautiful and yeah. She spends a lot of time trying to take care of others, but never so much that it overwhelms who she is. If she were real, I think we'd be buddies.

Coren and Zizain are partners in adventure and smuggling, and they're kiiiiiiiiinda my favorites in the book, especially Coren. Coren is clever and daring and bold and adventurous and has a keen sense of dramatic style that I heartily appreciate. And Zizain is also daring and cheerful despite a tragic past and is astonishingly friendly. She's lovely.  

The Daisha is also awesome, something like a cross between a dragon and a cat, with many of the best traits of both. She's the last of her kind, which is tragic, but she doesn't really waste time moping around. She is very ready to tell everyone else when they're being stupid, which I heartily appreciate, and is absolutely loyal, which I also love. 

Finally, Leoren and Casara are minor characters, but I wanted to mention them because they're such sweethearts. Leoren is a bit of a tangle of anxiety trying to help everyone and do the right thing, but he's also willing to stand and act when the time comes. And Casara is a delight; like Tryss, she spends a lot of time caring for everyone, but in a different way. I don't know. I love them a lot, ok?

Are you excited for Moonscript? Which characters are you most excited to meet? Please tell me in the comments, and don't forget to stop by the other blog tour stops!
Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade) 

BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE

May 7^th

H.S.J. Williams—Tour Launch

May 8^th

Light and Shadow—Book Spotlight
E. Rawls—Book Spotlight

May 9^th

Tracey Dyck
Elizabeth’s Universe—Book Review
Grace M. Morris—Book Spotlight

May 10^th

Allison’s Well—Book Spotlight
Amelia Nicole—Book Spotlight

May 11^th

Ester S. (Instagram)—Book Spotlight
Imperial Scribis—Book Review

May 12^th

Liv K. Fisher
The Labyrinth—Book Review

May 13^th

Dreams & Dragons—Book Spotlight
Bookish Musings—Book Review

May 14^th

Unicorn Quester—Author Interview
Embers Reviews—Book Review

May 15^th

Unicorn Quester— “3 Reasons Why” Video Review
Writing in Rivendell—Book Spotlight
Sarah, Plain & Average—Book Review

May 16^th

Jane Maree—Book Review

May 17^th

Jemma the Dragon Slayer (Tumblr)—Book Spotlight
The Bookish Raven—Book Review

May 18^th

Words of Hannah Kay—Book Review
Purely by Faith Reviews—Book Review

May 19^th

Functionally Fictional—Book Spotlight
Jenelle Schmidt—Book Spotlight

May 20^th

Beka Gremikova—Book Spotlight
Seven Billion Smiles—Book Review

May 21^st

Today by Bryn—Tour Conclusion & Art Gallery
 

Forging the Fellowship Tag!

Hey'a, everyone! So, it has, in fact, been actual ages since I did a tag. I think. Let me check.

Ok, so apparently "actual ages" means "slightly less than six months." Or, if you include my other blog, right around two months. In all fairness, though, one of those months was March, which we all know was secretly a full year stuffed inside a month-sized suitcase. Anyway. Jem Jones tagged me in the Forging the Fellowship blog tag (created by Julia at Lit Aflame), in which you forge your own Fellowship out of book characters. Sounds fun, yeah? I think so, and thus I'm doing it now before I forget about it.

On a side note — over at Light and Shadows, I'm joining the blog tour for H.S.J. Williams's Moonscript, which just released yesterday. I'm sharing my full thoughts in this week's Friday 5s post, but the long story short is that it's an excellent book and you all should go buy it. Also, check back here on Wednesday for another post about the book. We'll see what it's going to be; I haven't decided yet. Anyway. ON WITH THE TAG!

1. [The Ring Bearer]: If you could choose, which of the four races would you be: Elf, Dwarf, Human, or Hobbit?
Ok, first of all, who the pumpernickel made me the Ring Bearer? I am a terrible choice for this for so many reasons. (Not least of which: I'd probably lose the thing. And then someone would be like "Sarah, where's the One Ring?" And I'd be like "Well, I had it when I was trying to find that one notebook . . . um . . . maybe it's in the box with the other notebooks? Or the other box with the notebooks? Or my desk drawer? Or buried in the piles of stuff on my desk? I don't know."

Anyway. If you asked me this five years ago, I would've said elf without hesitation. And it's still a strong consideration. But, let's be real, I'm much more hobbit-like. 

2. [Gandalf the Grey]: A wise/powerful elder/mentor character:
Fun fact: apparently I have somehow never written a "favorite mentors" list, at least not that I can find. I'm not sure how that happened in a full six years of weekly list posts, but yeah. So this question just got that much harder.

That said, I'm going with a bit of an unconventional choice: a character who's actually primarily known as a protagonist, but who grows into a mentor to other characters after a while. Who is this? Sapphira Adi from Bryan Davis's Oracles of Fire and Children of the Bard series, specifically from just before the CotB era, when she's had quite a bit of leadership experience on top of her several thousand years of life experience. While not my favorite mentor or my favorite character in general, Sapphira Adi, as an Oracle of Fire, does have the wisdom to lead a group, the spiritual discipline and power to deal with all the nastiness and terrifying enemies associated with the One Ring quest, and the patience to handle everyone else being overdramatic and ridiculous.

3. [Aragorn]: A character with good survival skills:
This one's an easy choice! We're calling in Errance from Moonscript! As a half-Celestial, half-earth elf, he's very at home in the wilderness, and as the story proves, he's a very capable defender of both himself and others. Granted, the fact that he'd have minions of Darkness after him particularly might make the quest a little difficult . . . but, let's be real, we're going to have enemies aplenty anyway. What's a few more?

4. [Boromir]: A character who makes mistakes, but has a good heart: 
It's more like "one fairly major mistake" than mistakes plural (and therefore a bit of a stretch, but I want him on the team), but we're picking Artham Wingfeather of The Wingfeather Saga for this category. Specifically, Book 3 (or late Book 2) Artham. Or possibly post-series Artham. Anyway. Artham is probably my favorite character from the Wingfeather Saga, and yes, he did have a pretty major moment of weakness, but, y'know? That doesn't change the fact that he's loyal and courageous and loving when it matters most.

5. [Gimli]: A stubborn character:
Stars, who wouldn't fit this category? I'm pretty sure that if there's one defining trait all my favorite characters share, it's that they're all pretty stubborn. (Keep in mind that determined and stubborn are synonyms, yeah?) So, who will it be? After much thought, I'm going with Robin from the Bookania Quests. She's definitely very stubborn, but in a reasonably levelheaded way. (Or, at the very least, she's not angsty. She's very straightforward, honestly.) She's capable, she's clever, she's a masterful swordswoman, and she lets exactly nothing stop her from accomplishing her goals.

6. [Legolas]: A character who is talented: 
Ok, is there actually any question here? If I'm assembling my own quest team, it absolutely has to include Bard Eanrin of the Tales of Goldstone Wood. Eanrin is a cat-faerie of many talents, including, but not limited to, singing, poetry, creating distractions, being a cat, annoying the forces of evil (and sometimes also the forces of good, but y'know), and denying his feelings/lying to himself for years on end. As a bonus, this means we have two of my favorite fictional poets (Artham and Eanrin) in the same party, which I think sounds great.

7. [Peregrin Took]: A character who at first seems useless, but ends up surprising you:
So, I had a pretty major debate for this spot: Steris from the second era of Mistborn? Or Matrim Cauthon from the Wheel of Time series? Both of them fit very well. I mean, "initially seems useless but surprises you in the end" sums up Steris's arc very well, and it's part of the reason why I love her so much. As a bonus, all the things that make you underestimate her are the things that prove essential in the end. (Plus, if she joins the party, then Waximillian Ladrian has to come along and I get a bonus gunslinger/Misting.)

And then Mat plays a very Pippin-ish role at the start of his series — the prankster, the one who touches things he's not supposed to, so forth — but even by Book 5 (which is the last one I've read; I need to get back to the series; don't judge me), he's coming to his own as astonishingly resourceful, skilled, and intelligent — all backed up by some serious luck.

In the end, though, I would probably pick Mat for one simple reason: he's familiar with the type of world we're dealing with. Steris (and Wax) are from a world that's a bit more Old West/Victorian-esque. Mat, on the other hand, is from a medieval-esque world that's much closer to Middle Earth in terms of cultures and technology and all that. So, he'll be able to adapt much more easily to this new location. (On a side note, we're getting Mat of anytime after about the halfway point of Book 3, but ideally Book 5.)

8. [Meriadoc Brandybuck]: A character who is small/not very strong, but has great courage:
Let's go back to an old friend and get Kale Allerion from the DragonKeeper Chronicles on this quest. Granted, by the end of the series, Kale is quite capable as a wizard, dragon keeper, and warrior, but we're calling specifically on Book 3 Kale, who's competent but still has a fair bit of learning to do. As a bonus, Kale brings with her a watch of clever, colorful minor dragons, all of whom also fit this category. Huzzah!

9. [Samwise Gamgee]: A character who is extremely loyal and doesn’t give up:
Adolin. Adolin. Storming Adolin Kholin. Absolutely, no question. He has many, many excellent qualities (he was second choice for a talented character, after Eanrin), but one of his best qualities is his loyalty — to his family, to his friends, to his duty. He makes a habit of standing by people in desperate situations. Of never giving up. And if you know him and you don't agree, I'm sorry, have we read the same book? When his father is going mad, when the world is being turned upside down (and then upside down again, and again, and again), when his friends are falling apart — he's there. Even when he's hurting as deeply as anyone else, he's standing up and keeping everyone else going and looking for hope. And so who else could I pick for this spot?

How would this group do on an actual quest? It's hard to say, and a lot of it depends on how broody Errance decides to be and how well Artham and Eanrin get along. I feel like those three would take up most of the attention while the rest of us quietly got stuff done. (That is, until we got attacked, at which point everyone is very helpful except me and half the group ends up showing off because, quite frankly, when you have a terrifyingly competent elf prince, a Throne Warden, the best swordswoman in the world, and an extremly skilled Shardbearer and duelist in the group, they're probably eventually going to get to the point of trying to show each other up. And then you have Sapphira Adi and Kale throwing around fire and wizardry, respectively, and Mat being like "Light burn these people, so extra" while being intensely extra himself. And I'm just like ". . . Imma hide and not die now, ok, thanks. Lemme know when it's safe to come out.")
 

And now we come to the part of the show where I tag people. Um. We're going to tag Deborah O'Carroll (when she comes back from hiatus) and beyond that, if you want to do this, consider yourself tagged. I can't keep track of who's actually still blogging and who's on hiatus and who still does tags and who doesn't. So. Yeah.

If you decide to do this tag, you need to:

• Include the tag banner in your post
• Link back to the creator of the tag ( LITAFLAME.BLOG )
• Thank and link back to the person who tagged you
• Forge your Fellowship out of BOOK CHARACTERS by answering the given questions!
• Tag three bloggers to pass the ring to. 

And here's a clean copy of the questions:
1. [The Ring Bearer]: If you could choose, which of the four races would you be: Elf, Dwarf, Human, or Hobbit?
2. [Gandalf the Grey]: A wise/powerful elder/mentor character:
3. [Aragorn]: A character with good survival skills:
4. [Boromir]: A character who makes mistakes, but has a good heart:
5. [Gimli]: A stubborn character:
6. [Legolas]: A character who is talented:
7. [Peregrin Took]: A character who at first seems useless, but ends up surprising you:
8. [Meriadoc Brandybuck]: A character who is small/not very strong, but has great courage:
9. [Samwise Gamgee]: A character who is extremely loyal and doesn’t give up:

Even if you don't feel like doing the tag, what do you think of my choices? And who do you think you'd pick? Please tell me in comments!
Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)