UFI welcomes Author Amy Braun. Thanks for Joining us!!
Into the Past with Amy Braun
What books would your past self recommend at ages 5, 11, 16 and 20?
For my five year old self, I would recommend any book with dragons in it. Dragons are fascinating creatures and different in every culture. They are also exciting and bring a lot of adventure and imagination to the mind. I don’t have a particular one to point at, so I would just dive into whichever one I could get my hands on. Or ask my parents to buy for me.
At eleven, I would read the “Percy Jackson” novels. I actually haven’t read those before and I wish I had when I was younger. Mythology has always been a deep love of mine and I always love learning more about gods and goddesses of other cultures, especially the Greeks. I’m also always interested in what could potentially happen if modern society fell back into the hands of ancient pagan deities. There are so many options, as the gods would be thinking of how best to increase their own power rather than the well-being of their followers. That said, eleven-year-old me wouldn’t be interested in ramifications or politics. She would just be waiting for the next big monster battle.
At age sixteen, I would do basically what I do now: fill my soul with young adult fantasy novels. In recent years, it’s become a deep love of mine. Young adult books are complex and mature and filled with character growth of all sorts. I can’t get enough of them and their themes of first love, teachings, struggle, and challenges of youth. I wouldn’t be able to pick just one, but “Six of Crows,” “Throne of Glass,” “A Court of Thorns and Roses,” and “An Ember In The Ashes,” would be among my top picks. All of those books have incredible and complex character relationships that add to the impact of their themes, and they would be excellent works of study to help build my career.
In my twenties, I would still be reading young adult novels, but I would also venture into epic and traditional fantasy. I would of course read Tolkien, but also Michael J. Sullivan, Mark Lawrence, and Jay Kristoff. At this point, I would be wanting to understand and read more about rich, detailed worlds and how they can be constructed. For as much as I love characters, I have to say that world building and lore are massive draws for me as a reader. There are always new things added to each book-world that I never expect when I read as a fan or as a creator, and watching masters create such places is never short of astounding.
No matter what age, I think it would lead to the same thing: My desire to be a full-time, professional fantasy author. There is literally nothing else I can picture myself doing. It’s the perfect fit for my personality and lifestyle. Reading is one of the highlights of my day, and while I do enjoy books as a fan, I also enjoy taking the time to see what other authors do and learn from them. I don’t think anyone should ever stop learning, and if my job literally pertains to me finding out how one author creates a dragon and another introduces ancient gods into the world… well, I can’t think of a better career for me at any age.
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Amy is a Canadian urban fantasy and horror author. Her work revolves around monsters, magic, mythology, and mayhem. She started writing in her early teens, and never stopped. She loves building unique worlds filled with fun characters and intense action.When she isn’t writing, she’s reading, watching movies, taking photos, gaming, struggling with chocoholism and ice cream addiction, and diving headfirst into danger in Dungeons & Dragons campaigns.
Find Amy and her books
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Hunt of the Gods(Areios Brothers #2)
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes Noble / Kobo
Two months have passed since Derek Areios—war-scion and heir of Ares—and the band of rogue scions he’s aligned with recovered both the Thunderbolt of Zeus and the Heart of the Devourer and returned them to the Gods. During the battle, Derek discovered he could control not only the element of fire, as all war scions can, but also the dark element “aether,” making him the only scion alive to wield two types of elemental magic.
Commanded by Zeus to retrieve the Trinity Weapons and the Shards of Cronus, Derek and the rogue scions are thwarted in their goal by a gang of water scions with a grudge against one of the rogues—Thea, heir of Poseidon. Both groups travel to an uninhabited island to recover one of the Shards––the Eye that belonged to Cronus, King of the Titans. But what they encounter will lead them down a path of brutal betrayals, hard truths, painful memories, and desperate actions.
With angry and impatient gods breathing down his neck, a curse that allows Ares to control him, a prophecy he’s desperate to avoid, a magic spear corrupting his thoughts, and two forms of elemental magic, Derek has a lot of baggage—and a lot of power. Will the price of using that power to satisfy the Gods be too much for him to pay?
Mythological monsters, explosive magic, and devastating truths take center stage in the second novel of the action-packed AREIOS BROTHERS series from Amy Braun.
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