Author of Young Adult Fantasy
The Crystal Realms is a world that consists of three diverse continents (so far!)
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The first of these is Thalian.
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This is where The Darkling Duology and its prequel is set. The land in these stories is heavily influenced by the Mediterranean climate and Ancient Roman politics, city layouts, and clothing. I expect it had a hand in the culture too! The capital city of the mid-area where the Darkling Duology is set, is named Karas and this is where almost all the adventures from The Shard are set. A city run by an Assembly and hiding a dark secret... One that Nalani and her newfound friends will have to uncover.
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If you were to travel by horse and cart 3 days to the south, you would reach a small port town called Virona. Rosa and her brother, Gianni were born here - from The Darkness Within Karas (Darkling Duology prequel).
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Board a large, fast ship, and travel south for about a week and you will reach the Naia Islands. This is where Nalani lives. Nalani is the strong, capable, yet slightly vulnerable, heroine from The Shard and The Dark Cluster. Her home islands take inspiration from Ancient Hawaii and Polynesia.
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In The Dark Cluster, Nalani and her band of loyal friends journey north from Karas and into the Altozera Mountains to face an ominous enemy. She is also following in her father's footsteps, hoping she can learn what happened to him 15 years before.
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Travel the perilous passes through the mountain range and you will reach a land that is influenced by Switzerland. It is close enough to Karas for the deeds there to have affected magic. Look out for a new series set here...
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Even further north lies a snowy, cold land where Luca's mother is from. Plus the Ice Guard. A new series of mine features a retired Ice Guard called Lilya and her adventures after she heads south. This series is a departure from YA Fantasy into Cosy Fantasy. Nothing that a Teen shouldn't read!
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The second continent is Escarnia
Now, if you were to set sail from the Eastern ports of Thalian you would - hopefully - find yourself landing on the continent of Escarnia. Far to the south, just off the coast is an island called Jumali. This is where The Light Wielders takes place. A tropical land inspired by Indonesia and where magic is fuelled by light.
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But, if you were to head north you would find yourself in the vast and sprawling Kinchere Empire. Here magic cannot be used directly from the Source, but must be filtered through Crystals. This is where all the magic and adventures of The Crystal Mages Trilogy occurs.
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Just beyond the southeastern border of Kinchere, lies the land of Methisti. This setting was heavily influenced by Ancient Persia. The Fallen Mages is set here, 100 years prior to the adventures of The Crystal Mages.
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Linking both The Crystal Mages Trilogy and The Fallen Mages is the subscriber only prequel novella Origin of the Fallen.
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The land of Virin Asra borders the empire and Methisti, one of the characters from The Fallen Mages is from here. This land's culture is inspired by Ancient Maya. I have plans for a series set here...
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You may be wondering about that elusive third continent... well, the people that invaded Escarnia and formed the Kinchere Empire set sail from here, it lies to the east again and is mostly uncharted territory at the moment...
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The thread that links all these books together - apart from being set on the same 'world' - is, you guessed it, Crystals! Crystals of various shapes and sizes play a role in all my books. For some they allow the mages to use magic, for others they store magic energy for other purposes, and in Light Wielders ... well, you'll have to read the book and find out!
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I hope to add some maps to this page at some point, and maybe in the future someone will explore and have adventures on that, as yet unnamed, continent.
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