The Paper Magician, by Charlie N. Holmberg

A little while ago I downloaded a book called The Paper Magician, by Charlie N. Holmberg.  I know the age-old saying tells us to never judge a book by its cover, but I must admit, I sometimes find a cover so pleasing to the eye that I will try it simply because the art made me happy.  In this
instance, I was absolutely rewarded.

I love the cover art!  It is simple but caught my eye immediately.  I would love have this book cover as a poster framed and on my wall.  Maybe if I can score one I'll beg the lovely Mrs. Holmberg to sign it for me ;o)

I was drawn into the story within the first paragraph and didn't stop until I had finished the book.  I liked the fact that, in the beginning, neither character was initially easy to like..at least not completely.  As the story progressed and I learned more about them, I loved them.  They are complex, and the way they respond to each other is perfect.  I am not a big romance fan.  This relationship though, is one that even I can get behind.  It isn't overly emotional, or showy.  It isn't mushy love.  To me, it is more like real world love...well..a real world that includes magic (which...would be way better!) It is a super sweet relationship, but the story isn't reliant upon it being a "love story."  Much like the cover, the writing isn't flowery and showy.  It is written very well, and the writing style matches the style of its characters.  The grace and sophistication of this author makes it more than enjoyable read.

All in all, this is a brilliant beginning to this trilogy and I can't wait to read the next two.  Book two, The Glass Magician, comes out in November and, of course, I have it pre-ordered.

I wrote to Charlie Holmberg and told her how much I loved her book, and also asked her about what inspires her to write, where she does her writing, any tips for budding writers, and what her favorite part of writing this trilogy.  Here is what she had to say:

As for what inspires me to write . . . that’s a tricky question. Really, I write so I can experience things that don’t occur in our world. So far I’ve written strictly fantasy because I adore the fantastical. There’s so much to do and explore beyond the boundaries of real life.

 My writing environment isn’t anything special. It’s usually just at my desk (without even a window nearby) or, occasionally, on my mattress when I’m tired of sitting on my desk.

 For people starting their first book, the greatest advice I ever received was this: finish it. I had an author at CONduit in Salt Lake City once tell me that, if you finish a book, you’re already ahead of 95% of aspiring authors. (I think I started about twelve books before I finally finished one.) As for The Paper Magician, that series is my most real-world-grounded of any I’ve written. For the first book, my favorite part was the whimsy I got to put into it, the world within a world within a world I could create. I felt like I had no borders, like I was in a play land where I could do anything I want. My favorite part of The Glass Magician is, honestly, the romantic tension. Romance isn’t the main plot of the book, but it was fun to write.

I’ll hopefully have announcements about the third book soon. :) Thanks again Kari!-Charlie

I highly recommend that you pick up a copy of The Paper Magician and give it a read.  Then come back and let us know what you thought.  I am so excited to read the next two books in the trilogy and also to anything else she writes. 

Thank you Charlie, for giving us well thought out, well written books to feed our bibliophilic addictions!

The following is the synopsis for The Paper Magician:

Ceony Twill arrives at the cottage of Magician Emery Thane with a broken heart. Having graduated at the top of her class from the Tagis Praff School for the Magically Inclined, Ceony is assigned an apprenticeship in paper magic despite her dreams of bespelling metal. And once she’s bonded to paper, that will be her only magic … forever.

Yet the spells Ceony learns under the strange yet kind Thane turn out to be more marvelous than she could have ever imagined—animating paper creatures, bringing stories to life via ghostly images, even reading fortunes. But as she discovers these wonders, Ceony also learns of the extraordinary dangers of forbidden magic.

An Excisioner—a practitioner of dark, flesh magic—invades the cottage and rips Thane’s heart from his chest. To save her teacher’s life, Ceony must face the evil magician and embark on an unbelievable adventure that will take her into the chambers of Thane’s still-beating heart—and reveal the very soul of the man.

You can find more information about Mrs. Holmberg, as well as her books at http://charlienholmberg.com 

the beautiful Charlie N. Holmberg

The covert art for the second book in the trilogy, coming
out on November 4, 2014. To pre-order, go to amazon.com