Mirrordom

Fable and Legend, the second book in my YA fantasy series, The Mirrordom Legends, is out soon – so it seemed like an appropriate time to introduce you to some of the characters you’ll be meeting (some of whom you already know from Venom and Blaze!)

All the books in my series are set in a world where humanity is divided into Good and Mirrors. As their name suggests, the Good are unable to lie, steal or kill – but their Mirror twin can do all those things and more. To protect the world, the Mirrors are taken from their mothers at birth and kept on Mirror Island, where they can’t hurt anyone. The souls of the twins are so bound up in each other that to kill a Mirror would kill their Good twin – so it would be impossible to simply eliminate the Mirrors without eliminating all the Good too.

I know a lot of you are waiting to hear what happens to Venom and Blaze after the events of the first book. However, you’ll have to wait until the third book (City and Shadow) to see what happens to Venom and Blaze.

The setting

Fable and Legend is set directly after the events of the first book and follows Fable, one of The Five Mirrors who were imprisoned in the dungeons of King Viper’s castle. Now, all of The Five have escaped and are navigating an unfamiliar world they’re entirely unprepared for.

Most of the action in this book takes place either in taverns, in a farmhouse or in the infamous Glittering City, renowned for its decadence and wealth.

The characters

Fable

Fable, who occasionally goes by Elegance when she wants to be incognito, is trying her best to blend in and pretend to be Good. She’s making it her mission in life to track down her Good twin, Legend. Fable is clever and resourceful, but also innocent and naïve. She struggles to make sense of the world around her, having been imprisoned in a dungeon since she was a baby. Can she trust the people around her? Will finding her family help her find herself?

Cobalt

The boy who can read minds. Cobalt doesn’t believe in prophecies (even though there’s one about him) and all he wants to do is make money, live richly and capitalise on his abilities. Shortly after crossing paths with Fable, he realises he can use her in his nightly cons. However, after an enemy from the past shows up and someone tries to kill him, Cobalt realises he needs Fable to protect him while he figures out who wants him dead and why.

Legend

Legend is Fable’s twin – and she’s nothing like Fable imagined. The happy-ever-after, fall-into-each-other’s-arms meeting never happened. In fact, if anything, Legend seems unnaturally hostile towards Fable. Just what secrets is Legend hiding? And can Fable ever bridge the chasm that lies between them and truly connect with her twin?

Ballad

Ballad is an old friend from Cobalt’s past – who isn’t acting like a friend at all. She wants revenge for something that happened when they were both fifteen – and she’ll stop at nothing to get it.

There’s also going to be a surprise appearance from another of The Five, who shows up in a most unexpected manner – but I can’t say any more than that!

Which character do you think you’ll relate to most? Driven, confident Cobalt? Determined, stubborn Fable? Or someone else entirely? Let me know in the comments which character you’re most intrigued to meet.

Over a thousand miles. Eight trains. Multiple hotels. Two action-packed days. YALC 2024 is over.

I’ll be blogging about the experience more, but I wanted to share some more exciting news: Fable and Legend took another step closer to publication day! When I got back, the proof copy was waiting for me.

What happens next?

It’s my job to go through the printed book to triple-check everything. This is a very important part of the proofreading and editing process and, at this point, I usually ask my early readers to let me know if they’ve spotted anything too. It’s amazing what can slip through the cracks!

Promoting Fable and Legend

Fable and Legend is one of my favourite books in the series. I love the character interplay and growth and the way Fable develops from a quiet, uncertain young girl to a woman who takes control of her own destiny and makes tough decisions.

The book is dedicated to everyone who ever had to make impossible choices. I hope Fable’s story will resonate with you all.

Many lovely readers will have picked up Venom and Blaze at YALC, so I’m looking forward to when they’re ready to read Fable and Legend.

The blurb

“The beast is out of the cage. And she thirsts for vengeance.”
In the world of Mirrordom, secrets lurk like shadows. For every child that’s born is entirely Good, unable to kill, steal or lie. But immediately after it appears a Mirror twin, capable of only bad things.
Fable, a Mirror girl with a twisted past, dares the impossible: to find her Good twin. Along the way, she meets Cobalt, a mind-reader with secrets of his own. As alliances shift and betrayal beckons, can Fable protect Cobalt from someone who wants to kill him? Or will the darkness consume them both?

I’ll be back very soon with an update of when Fable and Legend is ready to pre-order! In the meantime, back to editing!

Say hello to the cover for Fable and Legend!

Designed by the ultra-talented Ashley of Redbird Designs, this cover was very challenging to brief. Unlike Venom and Blaze and City and Shadow, there aren’t many tangible elements that would make good cover material.

However, Ashley came up with the genius idea of using a mirror to symbolise all the Mirrors. The snake represents betrayal – which is a common theme in this story – and the gold coins also feature within the novel.

Fable and Legend will be out soon and I can’t wait to share it with you. This novel was one of my favourites to write and I feel is one of best I’ve written to date. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

I’m glad the cover was designed before YALC as it meant I got the chance to design some lovely merch for the occasion.

If you happen to be in London this weekend, come and see me – and grab yourself some merch!