Here, Gerken and Lin talk about crafting complex characters and the power of imaginary worlds.Ĭasey Gerken: The world you built in A Magic Steeped in Poison is so lush and detailed it seems like a world you've lived in for many years with a lore all its own. When did you start building it? Gerken said of the debut, “Full of magic, history and mythology, this book is a quiet climb to the top of the biggest hill on the roller coaster and you can’t wait to get to the other side! Curl up with a warm cup of tea and enjoy the ride.” She lives on the Canadian prairies with her husband and daughter.Ĭasey Gerken of Innisfree Bookshop in Meredith, New Hampshire served on the panel that selected Lin’s book for Indies Introduce. She now works as an occupational therapist, and still spends her nights dreaming up imaginary worlds of her own. She grew up with her nose in a book and loved to escape to imaginary worlds. Lin was born in Taiwan and immigrated to Canada with her family at a young age. Lin is the author of A Magic Steeped in Poison, a Winter/Spring 2022 Indies Introduce young adult selection and March/April 2022 Kids’ Next List pick.

She currently lives in Ireland with her daughter Findabhair.Judy I. Melling is the author of Falling Out of Time, an adult novel, as well as four successful young adult novels, My Blue Country, The Singing Stone, The Druid's Tune and The Hunter's Moon, which won the Ruth Schwartz Award for Best Children's Fiction and was shortlisted for the 1993 Mr. But an even greater challenge lies ahead - it is the time of the Hunter's moon and the Hunter demands his sacrifice. It is a wild and dangerous chase and she needs all the help she can get from her red-haired friends to outwit the cunning of the other world. Armed with her knowledge of Irish folklore and a great deal of courage, Gwen sets out to challenge the king and find her cousin. When Gwen awakens, she is horrified to discover that Findabhair has disappeared, abducted by the King of the Faeries. Where better to begin than at royal Tara, seat of the High Kings of Ireland?Įager for adventure, they challenge an ancient law by spending the night in the sacred fairy mound. Findabhair and her cousin Gwen have always believed in magic and the other world, and their dream is to find a way to enter it.

The Singing Stone by O.R. Melling