Exiles (Ilyon Chronicles #4) by Jaye L. Knight – Release Blitz And Author Interview

Hullo, everyone! I’m here today with an author interview with Jaye L. Knight, in celebration of the release of book 4 in the Ilyon Chronicles!!! I’ve sadly gotten a little behind in this series, but I’m looking forward to catching up at some point in the future. 😀 On to the post!

Author Interview

C.B.: Starting off with a tough question! Which of your characters in the Ilyon Chronicles has
been your favorite to write?

Jaye: Jace! I love Jace. Jace is my precious. Jace will always be my precious. 😀 But that’s
probably pretty obvious to most of my readers. So I’ll make this more interesting and go beyond
the obvious. I also love writing Daniel. He always takes over his scenes. And then there’s Kaden
too. Really, it depends on the day and the scene. Most of the characters have been favorites to
write at one time or another.

Which of the books in the series was easiest for you to write, which was the hardest, and
why?

Looking back now that I’m on the very last book (which is being a royal pain in the
neck), I think Resistance was the easiest. When you first start a series, you have so much
excitement and it’s all so new and awesome. And you’re so pumped about it and anxious to get
to the next books. That really helps propel you forward. Six books in and six years later, you
can’t help getting a little bit tired and looking toward the finish line.

What is one piece of writing advice you would like to give to young aspiring authors?

Just write. Don’t get hung up on trying to get it right in the first draft, just get that story
on paper. You can always fix things later, but a blank page won’t get you anywhere. The best
way to learn is through practice, and the more you can write, the better. So go for it and don’t
worry what that first draft looks like.

Where do you get most of your story, plot, and/or character ideas?

Lots of places. It can be books, movies, music . . . pretty much anything. Ideas for Ilyon
Chronicles came from DragonQuest by Donita K. Paul, Robin Hood, Gladiator, The Hunger
Games, The Mentalist, Thor, and a commercial for a TV show called Unforgettable, among
many other things. I can pick up bits and pieces of ideas from just about anywhere.

You’re stuck on a deserted island! What person, what food, and what one other object
would you want with you? Why?

Is this person fictional or non-fictional? 😉 For non-fictional, I’d have to go with someone
who was good at surviving like Les Stroud or Bear Grylls, because, I mean, that would be
obvious. I do want to actually survive. But as for fictional person, well . . . Aragorn. Yeah, I’d
feel pretty good about my chances of survival with him. 🙂 For food . . . I guess something
imperishable, and it would have to be gluten free since I’m allergic to wheat (so imaginative,
lol). And object . . . something to write on, whether some sort of electronic device with unlimited
battery or a ginormous notebook. ‘Cause a writer’s gotta write. 😀

This was such a fun interview to do! I had no idea about all the different shows and books that inspired the Ilyon Chronicles! 

About the Book

Exiled after their defeat in Samara, the Resistance struggles to find allies in their quest to
restore King Balen to his throne and put an end to the emperor’s tyranny. When the crete
people refuse to lend their aid, Balen leads a group to Dorland to reason with them and win their
support. However, enemies prove to be everywhere, and they find themselves in a fight to keep
Dorland from becoming Daican’s latest conquest.

Back in Landale, the arrival of a new enemy forces Trask and Anne to tread more carefully than
ever. Tensions are rising, and the enemy is determined to test Anne’s loyalty and root out the
location of Trask and the Resistance once and for all.

Feeling trapped within the walls of Valcré, Prince Daniel must contend with an ever-eroding
relationship with his father. As their clashes escalate, the situation becomes potentially life
threatening when his loyalty is called into question. His sister seems bent on branding him a
traitor and actively seeking to condemn him to the fate of those put to death in their father’s new
arena. Daniel is certain his father would never execute his only son and heir but, with other
forces at work, it might not be that simple.

One small misstep could prove fatal for all.

Available now on Amazon!
Add to Goodreads

Haven’t discovered the world of Ilyon yet? Find out more at the official Ilyon Chronicles website! Plus, the first three Kindle books are on sale August 11^th – 14^th! You can find them on Amazon.

About the Author

Jaye L. Knight is an award-winning author, homeschool graduate, and shameless tea addict
with a passion for Christian fantasy. Armed with an active imagination and love for adventure,
Jaye weaves stories of truth, faith, and courage with the message that even in the deepest
darkness, God’s love shines as a light to offer hope. She has been penning stories since the
age of eight and resides in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.

You can connect with Jaye on her website, blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Etsy. (Also, I got a Jaye’s Ranger’s Apprentice bronze oak leaf necklace for Christmas, and I absolutely love it! You guys should check out her Etsy store. 😀 )

 

 

 

 

 

 

Giveaway

Share in the excitement of the release and enter to win a themed giveaway pack! Prizes include
an autographed copy of Exiles, a pewter dragon necklace by treasurecast, and a sword letter
opener! (Giveaway is open to US residents only. Cannot be shipped internationally.) Check out the giveaway here.

Schedule

Thursday, August 10

• Book Spotlight at A Pinch of Faith

Friday, August 11

• Character Interview at Reality Reflected
• Review at Tricia Mingerink
• Book Spotlight at She Hearts Fiction
• Review and Excerpt at Literary Cafe
• Character Interview and Excerpt at A Day In The Life
• Author Interview at The World of the Writer
• Review at WritingAnyone
• Review and Character Interview at Meagan Davenport
• Review and Special Post at R535 Blog
• Review at Leah’s Bookshelf
• Author Interview and Excerpt at Liv K. Fisher
• Review, Character Interview, and Excerpt at The Elven Padawan
• Review and Author Interview at Books and Arrows
• Review and Author Interview at The Artful Author
• Review and Character Interview at Red Lettering
• Review and Author Interview at PageTurners
• Review and Author Interview at Sutori no Hana
• Review and Character Interview at Bookends

Saturday, August 12

• Review and Excerpt at Thriving Hope
• Book Spotlight at Today, by Bryn
• Review at Honey Rock Hills
• Excerpt at Rachel Rossano’s Words
• Excerpt at Tell Tale Book Reviews
• Excerpt at The Overactive Imagination
• Review and Author Interview at One Word At A Time
• Author Interview at Marrok Macintyre
• Review and Author Interview at Sarah, Plain & Average
• Review at A Camera and a Dreamer
• Review and Excerpt at Writings, Ramblings, and Reflections
• Character Spotlight at God’s Peculiar Treasure Rae
• Review and Author Interview at Sarah Allerding
• Author Interview and Excerpt at Dreams and Dragons
• Review and Character Interview at Resting Life
• Review and Character Interview at The Music of a Story
• Review and Character Interview at Ruffles and Grace

Sunday, August 13

• Review at Woman at the Well
• Review at Lakeside Publications
• Review at Ember’s Reviews
• Review and Author Interview The Ink Lizard
• Excerpt at Lianne Taimenlore
• Book Spotlight at Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens

Monday, August 14

• Review at Backing Books

Tuesday, August 15

• Review at Morgan Elizabeth Huneke

Are you guys excited for the release of Exiles? What did you think of the author interview? Comment below with your thoughts!

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Samara’s Peril Blog Tour | My Thoughts on the Ilyon Chronicles and Resistance

Hullo, everyone! It’s been a while since I’ve posted! I meant to take a small hiatus, and then accidentally took a quite long hiatus. Whoops. Never fear, I’ll be posting another part of Twinepathy tomorrow. Until then, I have a special post for today. Jaye L. Knight’s newest book in the Ilyon Chronicles has just been released! I’ve really loved this series, and I’m very excited about Samara’s Peril! In fact, today I was supposed to do a review of it… but since I haven’t finished reading it yet, that would be very difficult. 😉 Instead, I’ll be telling you about my introduction to this series and posting my original review of Resistance, which… well, I must admit, it involved a lot of fangirling. 🙂 Hopefully this will convince you to give the series a try if you haven’t already!

I had seen the Ilyon Chronicles around quite a bit, and seen a lot of fangirling about it. I actually had the books on my Kindle for a while before I actually got around to reading them. And here’s a fun fact – Resistance was the first fantasy book I read after reading The Lord of the Rings. Surprisingly enough, I enjoyed Resistance just as much as Tolkien’s classic, only in a different way. Resistance had amazing characters and awesome Christian themes, and now this series is one of my all-time favorites. I was very pleased to hear that there are quite a few more books in the making. *rubs hands in happy anticipation* On to the review!!!

(This review is from past me, but I’ve added some more current thoughts in italics.)

I guess I should go ahead and review this before I finish The King’s Scrolls. 😉 This book was absolutely AMAZING. I adored every single part of it (except the parts I wasn’t supposed to, of course) and I just WANT ALL MY PRECIOUS PEOPLES TO BE HAPPY! *squeezes everyone in a giant group hug*

The Good
Oh oh oh, where to start? I absolutely loved all of the characters. I really, really, really love Jace. He’s amazing. I also love Tyra. ❤ I desperately want a wolf for a pet now. Or maybe not. A very tame wolf, thank you very much. As in, my dog. And then Trask and Tane and Kaden and Kyrin and Rayad OH RAYAD and Kalli and Aldor *sniff* and Lenae… I can’t find room to list everyone!!!!!

AND THEN THE PLOT! I love the switching third person POV, and all of the tension. These poor characters are getting tortured. *sniff sniff* Now that I look back on it, it’s not quite as bad as that. And I do the same thing in my own writing… But I also love all the faith themes and the introductions of different races.

And then Ilyon. Although I don’t have all the place names and their relative positions memorized like I do for some books (*cough* Middle Earth, anyone?), I really enjoyed all of the thought that Jaye had put into everything. Basically this book was one big treat that I gobbled down. (And don’t tell anyone, but this is almost as good as LotR… shhhhh.)

The Bad
…
*cough*
*blink*
*scratches head*
Um.
I really can’t think of anything I didn’t like… AT ALL. (Except Daican. And Davira. But I’m not supposed to, so…) I do wish there was more of Jace than Kyrin, though…

The Ugly
Several executions, and many people get injured. Nothing too graphic. No other questionable content.

---

And now I have more! When I wrote this review for Resistance, I was already pretty far into The King’s Scrolls, and now I have Samara’s Peril. And speaking of Samara’s Peril, let me introduce you to the star of this blog tour!

About the Book

When news arrives that Emperor Daican has been in contact with his chief war strategist, it signals potential doom for the country of Samara. Determined to intervene, the resistance in Landale, headed by Lady Anne, embark on a covert mission in hopes of unearthing further information. However, a shocking discovery leads to complications no one could have foreseen. Armed with their newfound knowledge, they set out for Samara to warn the king. War is inevitable, and they must face two desperate battles—one on the walls of Samara’s great stronghold, and the other on the battlefield of Jace’s heart, where victory might only be achievable through great sacrifice.

Available now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iBooks!

Add to Goodreads

Haven’t discovered the world of Ilyon yet? Find out more at the official Ilyon Chronicles website!

* * *

About the Author

Jaye L. Knight is an award-winning author, homeschool graduate, and shameless tea addict with a passion for Christian fantasy.  Armed with an active imagination and love for adventure, Jaye weaves stories of truth, faith, and courage with the message that even in the deepest darkness, God’s love shines as a light to offer hope. She has been penning stories since the age of eight and resides in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.

You can connect with Jaye on her website, blog, Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and Etsy.

* * *

Check out the full tour schedule and the awesome Rafflecopter giveaway on Jaye’s blog!