WHY I LOVE THE SPOKEN MAGE SERIES

WHY I LOVE THE SPOKEN MAGE SERIES
Friday, September 15, 2023 by Linda Wood Rondeau

Categories: Friday's Fiction / Reviews and Interviews

PLEASE WELCOME

SUZANNE MCKAIG

FICTION FRIDAY

Editor’s Note: Today’s guest visits The Spoken Mage series by Melanie Cellier and why she enjoys the series.

In a world where a pen is literally mightier than a sword, unleashing almost limitless power that is shaped and guided by its wielder, a voice that commands the same abilities is deadly. Melanie Cellier’s Spoken Mage series follows Elena, a common-born girl, as she navigates the world of nobles and royalty, fighting for survival while trying to learn how to use her impossible power.

With a backdrop of two kingdoms at war, the series seamlessly weaves intrigue with questions of right and wrong, what it means to be family, and whether a person’s origins and abilities determine their worth. The series explores the possibilities of a tongue with the power to simultaneously stop thirty-nine hearts and the impact such a power would have on the world.

As an avid Young Adult Fantasy reader, I’ve encountered a variety of stories, all with fascinating magic systems and plots. But few have stuck with me like The Spoken Mage series—in fact, it was the first book series I purchased. (I tend to have the library get books for me, and then just borrow them.)

When I began my writing journey,

I took the time to puzzle out why the series has stuck with me.

It wasn’t the characters, though Elena’s determination to protect her family, combined with Coralie’s friendship, and Finnian’s teasing—along with all the other characters—make for wonderful book friends and are part of the reason I’ve reread the series multiple times. Nor was it the mystery of Elena’s origins and the question of who is trying to kill her—and a good mystery is a sure way to fascinate me. It wasn’t even the world-building and unique magic system that captured my mind.

The idea I kept coming back to was the power Elena wielded with her tongue, the power of life and death.

In the acknowledgments of Voice of Power (the first book in the series), Cellier shares that the idea for The Spoken Mage series was birthed from Proverbs 18:21a, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue,” (ESV). It captured her imagination long before she wrote the first draft, and eventually spawned a whole new world.

The concept similarly captured my mind. You see, I, like Elena, wield the power of life and death with my tongue. Not in a physical sense, of course, but an emotional one. Each day, my choice of words and tone during interactions with those around me either builds them up or attacks them. And a hasty word, spoken in anger, can be worse than a physical death blow because death perpetrated by words can—and often will—be relived multiple times.

The series reminded me we too often forget the power we wield in our daily lives—the power of speech and the power of friendship, to name two—and get lost in “if only I could . . .”s that idolize magic and superhuman abilities.

This series, and others like it, highlight the power of the mundane—the little ways we can daily make a difference—and stick with us because of it. Not because they have better characters or unique plots, but because they’re woven with strands of truth, enduring the test of fiction and reality.

ABOUT SUZANNE MCKAIG

Suzanne is a devoted follower of Christ who firmly believes in the power of storytelling. Her message as a writer and speaker is to ‘Keep magic in the mundane,’ because she firmly believes joy is the magic of our world and that we can find it in every situation in life. Suzanne shares her message through her blog, social media platforms, speaking opportunities, and newsletter, with humorous stories and videos that give a peek into her own hectic life as a writer, dairy farmer, and substitute teacher. She is a member of ACFW, where she participates in a small critique group and the Writing Craft Book Club.

Website: www.suzannemckaig.com

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