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Caught Stealing From A Wizard
The Owl-Headed Wand follows an orphan boy who is taken under the wing of a wand maker and ends up on the run from revolutionaries. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
Many years ago I envisioned a simple opening of a story where an orphan is caught stealing from a wizard, but the wizard sees greatness in the orphan and helps him. That was the original inspiration. I wrote a book called The Winter Wizard Chronicles where I first created the world of Yohan. In passing, the story mentions the Fire Elf Rebellion. The two books are almost entirely exclusive in their stories, only sharing the world. But, that mention gave me an idea of where this story would go.
James has endured a lot in life and finally starts to feel at home and safe only for things to fall apart again. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?
James was one of the most difficult characters I have written, because his struggles are so unique to a life that I haven’t experienced. I had to put myself in the shoes of a kid who has had so much wrong done to him by those who should love him, and then expose him to people who do love him and let him learn to accept that love and grow from it. Once he had the love, I took it away and let the character fight to preserve it in the face of insurmountable obstacles. For James, I wanted to also showcase the need for others. I wanted a story about a young hero who saves the day, but does so with the help and kindness of those around him. James isn’t alone, even when he feels very alone, I never let him truly be alone. Sometimes that means he has to seek the help of others, sometimes it is accepting their help when they see he needs it.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Love, trust, and hope. James sought the love of a parent and found it in Othano. He had to learn to trust that the love was genuine and that at no time would Othano toss him aside. Hope was a driving force behind James’s actions as he is forced to fight to retain the life he had come to love.
Is this the first book in the series? If so, when is the next book coming out and what can your fans expect in the next story?
I had originally intended this to be a standalone. However, the response has been great and I too felt a need to revisit old friends, so I wrote a sequel recently. It is in the first stages of completion, still needs a lot of editing and work, so I can’t give a firm date. I hope to have it ready to publish as early as Christmas 2023 or some time in 2024.
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Under Othano’s tutelage, James begins to learn all he can about the history of wands and Yohan. However, his newfound peace and security is threatened by a growing revolution and Othano’s disappearance. Now branded a traitor, James must find Othano, escape the revolutionaries, clear their names, and discover the secrets of The Owl-Headed Wand.
The Owl-Headed Wand
The Owl-Headed Wand, written by Daniel Peyton, takes readers to another world. A young boy named James is a homeless orphan that is tricked into stealing from a Master Wand-Maker. James is caught by the master wand maker, but he makes a deal to work off his punishment. The Master wand maker, Othano, is kind to James and teaches him many things. James finally feels at peace until one day, the Fire elves threaten all of Yohan and James’ new home. This leads James to make new friends and discover that he is braver than he ever thought. He also learned about the Owl-Headed wand and what it means to him.
Daniel Peyton does a splendid job in worldbuilding, Yohan. I loved that he mixes elves, witches, and wizards together along with other species. The map at the beginning of the book is an excellent addition because it really helped me imagine the direction everyone was going. I looked back at the map several times to see where the characters were.
James is a well-developed character that captivates readers with his backstory and continued strength and determination. His story will touch the heart of readers and bring about strong emotions as they follow along as he shares his tale with Othano and Giles.
Othano is probably my favorite character in the story! While the book is about James, Othano’s character is kind and caring. His gestures to James were so heartwarming. Giles was another fantastic character. She was strong and fierce as the Commander of the Wind elves, but she was also kind and gentle with James. She was exceedingly protective of him. Daniel Peyton has mastered the art of creating an emotional response with his readers. Each character stirs up strong feelings in readers, from rage to tears of joy.
The Owl-Headed Wand is an extraordinary young adult fantasy novel with which to start the new year. The adventure James takes readers on as he seeks to clear his and Othano’s name is exhilarating. The bond between characters is heartwarming and gives readers hope for those less fortunate. I hope this is not the end of James, Othano, and Giles’s story and that there will be more in the future!
Pages: 316 | ASIN : B0BPHWW6P5
The Winter Wizard Chronicles
![The Winter Wizard Chronicles: An Epic Fantasy Adventure by [Daniel Peyton]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41q-eQpbeVL.jpg)
Aeons ago, the earth was in the grips of a bitter war between the elements. The wicked Ice Fairy Queen, bent upon expanding her frozen realm, wishes to engulf the entire planet in a permanent ice age. Witnessing the destruction that she seeks to unleash, the Winter Wizard, her former lover and general of her icy army, turns on his mistress and banishes her to be frozen in crystal for the rest of eternity.
Fast forward four thousand years to modern Tennessee, and here enter the heroes of our story, Brian and Sherri, who unwitting stumble upon the Ice Queens prison and accidentally unleash her, wreaking a new era of bitter revenge upon planet Earth. A new battle erupts, and Brian and Sherri find themselves in the midst of an ancient plan unfolding in a strange land, that has been centuries in the making, and which threatens to make the leap from the fantasy world and into the reality they love.
The Winter Wizard plunges you into a mystical and colorful world from the outset. Not allowing the reader the time to buckle up, author Dan Peyton sets the pace from the very beginning. Jumping straight into the action, The Winter Wizard doesn’t give time to lengthy prose, the action just keeps coming as we’re taken on a non-stop ride into the distant realms of elves and witches, sorcerers and warlocks.
Peyton at times sacrifices narrative depth to keep the speed up and chooses to take us on a journey that gives the feeling of being in the middle a white-knuckled, action-adventure movie. Short, punchy chapters mean we skip from action scene to action scene, introducing new characters, mythology and locations within the blink of the eye, making it easy to read and ensuring there’s never a dull moment or too much time to reflect.
This results in a trade-off between the speed at which the storyline progresses and the fleshing out of the main characters and universe, which can make it slightly hard to relate to the human protagonists. As the storyline develops and expands, the character development doesn’t quite keep up; we see Brian and Sherri progress in their understanding of the magical realm they have found themselves in, but emotionally and individually, less so.
The dialogue is short and snappy, Brian’s quick wit provides comic relief amidst the breakneck pace, and the spikey but warm relationship between a certain cat and a whisky drinking captain of the skies gives an endearing glimpse into lives of those living in this high-fantasy universe.
Peyton creates an entire world that is alive with mythology and magic. Winter Wizard is a adrenaline-fueled ride full of heartwarming moments and tongue in cheek humor that will keep the pages fluttering right until the end.
Pages: 244 | ASIN: B07B8L7CZT
Remnant
![Remnant by [Daniel Peyton]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51yb38Y4TEL.jpg)
Anna is an unlikely but intriguing combination of being both a secret Chrstian and an astro-geologist. She is known as a Remnant, the last of the religious in a world that does not allow religion to exist. She is accompanied by her endearing and adorable sidekick, the robot Z. They both find themselves on a deeply challenging and mysterious mission that is taking place on a new moon, where life has been discovered. This new life also seems to contradict the knowledge that Anna has been fed so far- especially by one influential Dr.Syke.
Remnant is an enthralling yet charming read. Some of the ideas behind the faith vs science conundrums were handled in such a fascinating way- without insulting the intelligence of the reader. It sort of reminded me of a few scenes in the classic HG Wells novel, The War of the Worlds, in the manner with which it dealt with these potentially controversial subjects.
Although I would have loved some further explanation for the motivations behind the Planetary Science Commission’s decision to ban religion- I felt like it was smoothed over too quickly. I would have liked a deeper exploration of the debate between science and religion, but they are satisfying enough to move the plot forward and give Anna’s character motivation. This turned out to be better for me because I was skeptical going into a Christian science fiction book. The novel makes interesting points, but remains accessible to anyone.
The humor and dialogue in this book saves itself from too much seriousness and it’s a relief. Z was an exceptionally fun character and I think more science fiction novels should do themselves the favor of including a can’t-help-but-love-him/her sidekick. The pace was breakneck and the plot stuck around in my head a while after I finished it.
I’d recommend this one to anyone who wouldn’t mind their science fiction with a bit of religion. I felt more curious and attuned to the mysteries of this world and others after it after reading Remnant.
Pages: 482 | ASIN: B07SPCXCG8
LITERARY TITAN 