Author Guest Post with Alyssa Roat, Mordizan

The bane of Mordred, the son of Mordizan, and a millennia-old prophecy—together they may provide what Brinnie needs to defeat the world of magic’s greatest threat.

Welcome to one of the March 16th stops on the blog tour for Mordizan by Alyssa Roat with Xpresso Book Tours (schedule linked.) Be sure to follow the rest of the tour for spotlights, reviews, author guest posts, and a giveaway! More on that at the end of this post.

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Author Guest Post

“Alyssa’s top 10 books read during high school/as a teen”

I’ve been a voracious reader my entire life. Now that I write teen fiction, it might be fun to revisit some of my favorites from when I was a teen!

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Before I knew the Ghibli movie existed, this book ranked as one of my favorites. I love Diana Wynne Jones in general, but Howl’s Moving Castle was my first introduction to her beautiful worlds and lovable characters.

The Dragonkeeper Chronicles by Donita K. Paul

I read these books an embarrassing amount of times, both as a kid and in my teens. I couldn’t get enough of the fantasy creatures, and especially the adorable pocket-sized dragons.

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

Quirky characters, fun puzzles, and friendship adventures were a recipe for success.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

I have a thing for the mysterious, magical, and a little bit weird. The books in this series hit the spot for me. (And they’re way better than the movie.)

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

I’m a huge Cornelia Funke fan, and Inkheart is one of her best. I loved stories from books coming to life, and Meggie’s relationship with her dad.

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

The whole series is a wild ride with plenty of magical shenanigans, heists, and humor. Who doesn’t love a hidden world of high-tech faeries?

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

And no, not the abridged version. I read that monstrosity of a chonker and I loved it. The romance, the suspense, the revenge…we’ll pretend I didn’t read it for class and actually stumbled upon it on my own.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Zusak’s use of an unusual narrator and his way of framing complex events from the perspective of a child deeply intrigued and moved me until I was left in tears at two in the morning.

Til We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis

This retelling of Cupid and Psyche is technically adult fiction, but I read it as a teen and found it beautiful and profound. The new twist on the old story fascinated me and made me wonder what other old stories could be explored in more depth.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Still one of my favorite books of all time, the amount of depth packed into a child’s perspective brings an emotional resonance seldom found in literature, while the sense of setting is so well built that the reader truly feels as if they live beside Scout.

Which have you read? I think all of these books had a profound impact on my writing, and it’s fun to look back and see where I came from.

About the Book

Mordizan
The Wraithwood Trilogy Book Two
by Alyssa Roat

Published 4 March 2022
Mountain Brook Ink

Genre: YA Fantasy
Page Count: 366
Add it to your Goodreads TBR!

The bane of Mordred, the son of Mordizan, and a millennia-old prophecy—together they may provide what Brinnie needs to defeat the world of magic’s greatest threat.

More than a year has passed since Brinnie left Wraithwood, never expecting to see it again. But when Mordred captures her sister, she is thrust back into the world of magic. She flees to Wraithwood, where she learns of a prophecy located in the dark wizard capital of Mordizan that reveals the identity of “Mordred’s bane,” something that could destroy Mordred for good.

Brinnie agrees to a rendezvous with Mordred to exchange herself for her sister, going undercover at Mordizan as a spy to find the prophecy and Mordred’s bane. There, she weaves a complicated web of secrets, lies, and tenuous friendships. She makes an unexpected ally in Marcus Vorath, son of the Master of Mordizan, who fears the implications of Mordred’s growing power. But in Mordizan, friends and foes may be one and the same.

In the midst of court intrigue, battle, ominous new depths to her power, and searching for Mordred’s bane, Brinnie struggles to draw the lines. How far is she willing to go to destroy Mordred? And how much of herself is she willing to give up along the way?

Amazon US | Amazon CA | Amazon UK

About the Author

Alyssa Roat grew up in Tucson, Arizona, but her heart is in Great Britain. She has worked in a wide variety of roles within the publishing industry as an agent, editor, writer, and publicist. With 250+ bylines and 9+ books under contract in genres ranging from YA chat fiction to fantasy to sweet adult romance, you could say she dabbles in a bit of everything. Her name is a pun, which means you can learn more about her at www.alyssawrote.com or on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook as @alyssawrote.