Author Jodi Meadows’ Top 5

Today we welcome Jodi Meadows, author of THE ORPHAN QUEEN and the INCARNATE trilogy, to the blog. She’s giving us her top five reasons why she loves fantasy. We love fantasy too (especially Jodi’s new book THE ORPHAN QUEEN, which is basically Batman meets Game of Thrones with some swoon thrown in for good measure). You can see more about THE ORPHAN QUEEN here.

 

Meet Jodi. She knits socks of every color imaginable, has an unsafe number of ferrets who keep her on her toes, and would live in the world of Fringe if given half the chance.

 

Meet Jodi’s new book. It has dangerous magic, a vigilante with a huge secret to protect, and an orphaned, disposed queen determined to get her kingdom back no matter the cost.

 

 

And now for Jodi’s Top 5 reasons why she loves fantasy novels.

 

1. Anything is possible.

 

There aren’t really rules for fantasy, beyond whatever you do, it must work. I love that you can come up with any crazy world and, as long as it works (and that is subjective, of course), the story is totally legitimate. Want to get rid of gravity in your fantasyland? Fine! (But make sure you explain why a massive body like a planet doesn’t have gravity and explore the consequences of a world without gravity.)

 

 

2. Magic.

 

Of course. Magic is part of that “anything is possible” thing, I suppose, but it’s cool enough that it should get its own point. But specifically, I love that magic can be another tool in fantasy, like technology. I love that writers can come up with systems of magic and, for several hundred pages, really make readers believe in it. That’s magic, too.

 

 

3. Real issues.

 

Fantasy, like science fiction, has the ability to deal with real issues people deal with and explore them in a different environment. It can provide an extra layer of safety for readers, while still exposing them to something important. Look at STAR TREK for great examples of social issues in space. And tons of books for pretty much anything you can imagine, even personal ones.

 

 

4. Creatures.

 

Look, I love unicorns. I love dragons. I think they are amazing. And I love that in fantasy, they get to be real. (Maybe they are real in real life too. I don’t know. I’m not an expert or anything.) We get to play with other fantastic creatures, as well. And make up our own!

 

 

5. No limits.

 

Oh, it looks like we’re back to the first point, just worded a little differently. But really, fantasy is amazing, and I love that we’re getting more and more exploration in the genre. It’s darn exciting. 

 

Thank you, Jodi! 

So what do YOU think? What are some things you love about fantasy stories?