A man who knows her name.
Can they escape the hunters who destroyed two kingdoms to keep them apart?
Until a man from her past arrives, bringing with him an arcane power that has Iyanka questioning everything she knows of wielders. He offers her escape. He offers her a chance of regaining her world.
But the barons won’t let Iyanka go so easily. Even with a way to defend themselves, Iyanka and her new companions aren’t safe. Hunters chase them across Elnar, and even the promised haven isn’t as safe as it once was. The wielders aren’t the only ones with arcane powers on their side, and the barons still seek the wielders’ annihilation.
Iyanka is out of places to run. She has only one choice: stand with her people, fight for her right to live. But will the power she shares with Victorin be enough? Or will the promise of frosted fire fall to the barons with everything else?
Book Interview with Maegan
My first inspiration for Frosted Fire came early in my Freshman Year of college. I would walk to the public library as a break from homework, just to poke around the books and enjoy some peace. While I was there, I picked an interesting book involving people who control fire, but I ended up putting it back because it was clear the book had content that I didn’t want to read. Disappointed, I spent the walk back playing around with the concept of fire wielders in my head. It had rained, and as I was walking I absentmindedly brushed my fingers over the leaves, collecting rainwater on my fingertips. And a thought popped into my head: wouldn’t it be wonderous if I could freeze that water with my touch into glittering ice?
The two concepts melded into my mind, and I spent hours afterward playing with a story of an ice wielder and fire wielder, both hiding what they are. Can she trust the fire wielder? What are his intentions? How could fire and ice combine to do something other than destroy each other?
I had already thought of stories in a world where there are people who control fire, ice, plants, etc. Those stories were in the back of my mind, waiting to be written someday, but this story I couldn’t let go of. The more I thought of it, the more I wanted to write it, until I spent evenings after homework typing as much as I could before I had to go to bed.
Most of my Freshman year of college. I believe I finished it a little while after the school year ended…so between nine and ten months?
I love the main characters to pieces, but I think my favorite character is Henry. He’s a character that appeared in the story from nowhere and continued inserting himself until he became the central character of the entire series.
What I hope readers take from Frosted Fire is that standing up for what is true and good is not a task only for the Brave and Bold. It is the task given to each of us, regardless of how weak or afraid we are. And it is always valuable, no matter how your story on this earth ends.
Iyanka demonstrates throughout Frosted Fire that sometimes the declaration of truth in the face of lies comes in a choked whisper. Sometimes standing for what’s right means planting your feet even when every part of you begs to run. And sometimes refusing to bow to evil means locking your knees as your entire body trembles and tears drip off your chin. She shows through her story that it is okay to be frightened…what matters is that we don’t run away because of it. And, of course, she doesn’t stand alone.
There’s one location specifically called Agera that is an ancient city in ruins, far enough from civilization that few remember it even exists. I can’t pinpoint my exact inspiration for it except that I love ruins. It’s always been a daydream of mine to explore ancient places that still bear marks from centuries before, especially if that place is a castle. I also needed a location for Iyanka’s people to hide from those trying to kill them, and an ancient, forgotten city makes a wonderful haven.
It usually depends on the character. I think I made up Iyanka’s name just by playing around with it until I liked the sound. Most of the others I found on a baby names website, and I chose them based on their look and their meaning (For example, Iyanka’s brother is named Milek, which means “Victorious people,” because he rose up to guide and protect his people in their exile).
Goodness…usually there’s some embarrassing and hilarious typos that my mom finds when she reads my rough drafts, but I can’t say I remember any from Frosted Fire.
Oh! I have something! Several people have compared the powers in Iyanka’s world to those in Avatar: The Last Airbender. Which…fair, they both focus on the elements. But I had never seen ATLA when I wrote Frosted Fire. I knew the basic concept of the show, so I knew that the magic system in my world was similar. But I still had zero personal experience with it. Every time I’d describe my story to someone, they’d either compare it to Avatar or say I should watch it and I would be so confused.
I did eventually watch the show, but not until my Senior year of college. It turns out they were right: I do love it! And I watched most of the show while painting the scenes that are now on the covers of Frosted Fire and the rest of the Agonizomai Series!
but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7