A synopsis of a book can only tell you so much, so on today’s tour stop I wanted to tell you a bit more about Illicit Magic and some of the themes it contains. Predominantly the book is about witches and magic, and is told from the point of view of novice witch Stella, who is just coming to terms with her magic after a lifetime of causing accidents. When we first meet Stella, she’s lonely, she’s working at a temp job and she lives in a fairly awful, tiny apartment… to make matters worse, she’d being chased by a group of scary men who want to kill her. So let’s talk geography, alienation, friendship and staying true to yourself.
Geographically I wanted to make very important distinctions in where Stella started, where she went and where she ended up. We start with her in London; it’s cold, it’s wet, it’s dark. She’s not so much at home, but treading water, waiting for something to happen. Then her rescuer gathers her up, puts her on a plane and takes her to a place that is a stark contrast to everything she has experienced. New York is opulent and bright, the people charismatic; then there’s the safe house that is teeming with people just like her, people who want to be her friend, and this place is warm, comforting and embraces her. The contrasts between these places really reinforce the feeling of alienation Stella has experienced, the slightly bewildering world she’s come from and moved to and the choices that have now become open to her.
As we move through the novel, Stella finds what it is like to make true friends. Friends who understand her, accept her and are part of a world that she’s only just finding out existed. She’s a little wrong-footed to start with, she doesn’t understand the power struggles that are going on, or why, and those are things we’ll find out with her, but the connections she is now able to feel, are truely enabling.
Love and acceptance are very important to Stella – two things which really help her become more comfortable in her own skin and help her realise the magic that she’s always struggled with. Just as she accepts her magic, she also accepts herself, gaining confidence, and enabling her to find the truth and being able to lay her past to rest so she can really start living her life.
It was also very important that Stella stayed true to herself. Despite her past she’s a kind-hearted, loyal person because she’s already made the choice that that’s who she wants to be. She doesn’t allow herself to be blinded by what she’s offered, instead remaining true to the compassionate, intelligent and loving person that she is. Above all else, she is hopeful, she’s making her own decisions and she’s determined – qualities that make her a true heroine in my book.
What makes a true heroine for you?
More than three hundred years after the most terrifying witch hunts the world has ever known, it’s happening again.
Young witch, Stella, has to put her faith in strangers just to stay alive but she might not be any safer in their midst than from the danger she is running from.
There is more than one dark secret in her new family: Étoile’s sister is spoken of in fear and sadness; Marc is supposed to be a powerful witch but is missing his magic; where does the owner of their safe house vanish to every day and why does Evan have the eyes of someone not quite human? There is only one secret that someone will do anything to keep quiet, but whose secret is it and will Stella have to pay the price for silence?
| About the Author:
Hi, I’m Camilla and I’m the author of Illicit Magic and Unruly Magic, the first two books in the Stella Mayweather Paranormal Series. The series starts with a lonely young woman, Stella, who has been caught up in a terrifying witch hunt and is whisked thousands of miles away to what she thinks is safety to learn her craft. The series is a blend of magic, mystery and romance with a splash of humour – and while the girls really do go all out to save themselves, there’s always a hunky guy or two on hand to help them out.
I live in London, UK but I try to travel as often as I can – lately I’ve been to Paris, all over Denmark, Luxembourg, and several US states. In my day job I’m a journalist and editor so I write for magazines, newspapers and websites throughout the world (my favourite assignment was spending a week riding rollercoasters – if you listen carefully you can probably still hear me screaming).
It’s refreshing to hear about a character needing love and acceptance – so many heroines now are portrayed as viciously independent in an attempt to make them look strong. I’ll definitely be checking out Illicit Magic. 🙂
To answer the question, a true heroine discovers and holds onto her inner strength, but is confident enough in herself that she doesn’t put others down to make herself look stronger. She’s independent, yet learns to connect with others. Most of all, she grows.
I love independent heroines. She must be sure of herself, yet shouldn’t be without faults. A true heroine must accept help once in a while and be able to put her trust in people. Better to get let down than to never even try in the first place. Also, when it comes to romance, I love when the heroine is with the hero because she wants to, not because she needs to (got the feeling more often than you might think).
Thanks for the giveaway!
sk_86(at)gmx(dot)de
I love heroines with a great sense of humor. When everythings falling to pieces, they can still look on the bright side or crack jokes to lightn the mood.
ruby95660[at]yahoo[dot]com
A true heroine is someone who will do whatever is necessary to protect people and the ones she loves. She will accept who she is. She will realize she has faults and need help sometime. She will be strong when she has to be but she will have emotions and feelings and will not try to hide that. Tore923@aol.com
A true heroine is someone who has a sense of humor,always protects the people who need it and is never need or too dependant 🙂 Thanks for the giveaway!
chamblinh@gmail.com
A true heroine to me is somebody who stays true to themselves and does what is right, even in the face of much adversity. Also, she is someone who knows when she cannot handle things alone and will ask for help when that time comes 🙂
jwitt33 at live dot com
A true heroine to me is someone who isn’t afraid to ask for help. They do know they have weaknesses but don’t play them up to the tee and act like she cannot do anything because of the weaknesses. She sees the weakness and try’s to over come the weakness with a little help from her friends.
I like a heroine who knows who she no matter what but isn’t afraid to ask for help! Although she can’t be whiney!
I think a true heroine has strengths and unique abilities and knows her own weaknesses and flaws. She believes in herself and pushes through fear and doubt to get things done. She can admit it when she needs help but doesn’t just give up when it doesn’t come through. She makes the best of whatever the situation is and she has to have a sense of humor. Because when the going gets tough, you have to laugh or you are going to cry.
A true heroine is a strong, independent – yet vulnerable – individual. I don’t like the wishy-washy so-called heroines that are utterly dependent on their men to complete them. I like strong female characters, but there needs to be some vulnerability there to humanize them. Everyone has flaws, so a true heroine needs to show hers as well.
darlenesbooknook at gmail dot com
Hi Ms. Chafer!
I think in your post you hit many of the qualities I would have stated about what makes a true heroine. Compassion, loyalty, self-respect, confidence, intelligent… these are the qualities I like to see in my heroines because it’s what I also aspire to:)
Thanks for the giveaway! Your book sounds amazing and I definitely have it on my wishlist!
yadkny@hotmail.com
What makes a true heroine for you?
I think this is an important question because so many novels these days, while they feature female characters and even female protagonists, fail to make them as strong or as interesting as they would a male character. For me, a heroine needs strength. Not necessarily brute strength, but she needs that sense of… being able to stand on her own two feet without constantly needing someone else to save her. I don’t think a heroine should be perfect – she should definitely have weaknesses as she would in real life, but she needs something, an interesting personality, intelligence, a quirk, a talent that makes her stand apart, that fills her up with some personal strength. It’s a tried and true example, but I’m going to cite Hermione Granger from Harry Potter. Hermione isn’t perfect, nor is she the strongest witch. She’s bright, exceptionally so, and though she has knowledge of spells, she has little practical experience. Yet she will still do all she can to help her friends. She’ll try anything to help, and often times, her compassion and intelligence come in handy and her friends are saved. Sure, she can’t conjure a patronus as quickly as Harry can, but she can still pull herself through battle even if she hasn’t had Harry’s experience. She can try. And when Ron and Harry are injured, she will usually – not always – be able to help them, to heal them. She’s a necessity, and as Ron says in the books and films, they wouldn’t have made it that far without her.
Thank you for this giveaway! I’d love to enter.
infalliblyyours@gmail.com
Strong, independent heroines appeal to me but having a good sense of humor is good too!
smaccall AT comcast.net
I look for strong, independent heroines, but they need flaws, and I like following them through a book and watching them grow in some manner.
melorabrock {at} gmail {dot} com
A true heroine is someone who is brave, generous, free-thinking, maybe a little badass 🙂
A true heroine is just a normal girl that can take care of herself. She has to be brave but not bold, strong but at the same time not inhumanly strong. 🙂