Unknown (The Elements Trilogy, #1)
by Melissa Pearl
Genre: YA Fantasy
Word count: 71,500
Darkness is covering the land. As the city of Mezrah grows with power and greed, the rest of the world can only stand by and wait for their inevitable destruction. The only hope against this growing power is an ancient prophecy that people have stopped believing in.
Then a star begins to fall.
Princess Kyla of Taramon stopped believing in the power of light the day her father died. Trapped in a city she does not care for, under the watchful glare of her mother, the queen, she struggles to accept her fate.
Then a star begins to fall.
Jethro has loved Kyla for as long as he can remember. Learning that she was to marry his cousin drove a wedge between him and the feisty princess. Watching her from a distance is a torture he is unable to free himself from.
Then a star begins to fall, sparking an ember of hope and sending two seekers on a treacherous journey into the unknown.
This book is available from Amazon, Smashwords, and Barnes & Noble.
Melissa, how did you come up with the title for your book? Does it have any special meaning?
I named all the books in this trilogy at the same time. All I knew is that I wanted the third book to be called Unleashed. I then worked backwards and came up with Unknown, which is the perfect title as these two characters are heading off on a journey into the Unknown and the book is full of surprises.
Who was your favorite character and why?
I like so many of the characters in this book. I’d have to say Jethro. He is strong, determined and faithful. He has a good heart and becomes Kyla’s rock throughout this series. I guess the story is really her journey (emotionally), but she couldn’t have done any of it without Jethro beside her.
Does your book have any underlying theme, message, or moral?
This whole series is about faith and trust. The first book deals with stepping into an unknown situation and trusting that you’re taking the right course of action, even if everything around you seems to go against that.
What would/could a reader or reviewer say about your writing that shows they “get” you as an author?
One reviewer said that they usually don’t like fantasy but was willing to give my book a chance. They ended up loving it because I had written realistic characters in a fantasy world. My goal with this series was to write a fantasy trilogy for people who don’t love fantasy, in the sense that I wanted it to be a realistic emotional ride set in a magical world.
Give us an excerpted quote from your favorite review of this book:
“Best book by Melissa Pearl yet! I absolutely loved the concept and was hooked from the start! I can’t wait to see where Melissa takes us next in this series!”
Where can people learn more about your writing?
www.melissapearlauthor.com
I’m more sci-fi than fantasy but I do love the books of Robin Hobb, and it sounds as if your books are built on the same core – magical world, realistic characters. Going onto my TBR list. 🙂
Highly recommended, AC…