Book Details:
Book Title: Queen’s Catacombs (The Frean Chronicles #2) by Jordan H. Bartlett
Category: YA Fiction (Ages 13-17), 416 pages
Genre: YA Fantasy
Publisher: CamCat Books
Release date: Mar 2023
Content Rating: PG. Very clean, but there is some brief violence. Same sex relationships
Winning the crown was only the beginning.
Jacs, now the rightful Queen of Frea, seems to be Queen in title alone. She scrambles to learn the customs and traditions of a Realm she had only read about in books. The Council of Four have her firmly under their thumb, and their ideas for the Queendom are oppressive and outdated. Their knowledge of her mother and Master Leschi’s whereabouts is the only leverage they need to make the new Queen dance to their tune.
Jacs is determined to find those who were taken from her and do what’s right for her Queendom. But in her search for answers, Jacs uncovers a much darker truth from the Queendom’s past that will forever change its future.
Book Title: Contest of Queens (The Frean Chronicles #1) by Jordan H. Bartlett
Category: YA Fiction (Ages 13-17), 464 pages
Genre: YA Fantasy
Publisher: CamCat Books
Release date: Jan 2022
Content Rating: PG. Very clean, but there is some brief violence.
In a Queendom divided, can one girl unite the realms?
Jacs, an inventor’s apprentice from the Lower Realm, has only ever dreamed of what the land among the clouds holds. That is until she finds a letter from Connor, an Upperite boy hoping to learn more about the land below. Little does Jacs know, Connor is actually Prince Cornelius of the Queendom of Frea. With wooden boats and hot air balloons, the two begin a secret correspondence. But their friendship is divided by a heavily-guarded bridge and an inescapable prejudice.
The strength of their bond was thought to transcend distance and time, but when the royal family visits the Lower Realm, the Queendom’s feud is reignited.
To save her people, Jacs must infiltrate the Upper Realm and earn her place to compete in the Contest of Queens. In a story about friendship, love, bravery, and defying gravity, Jacs will strive to prove that a Queendom is strongest when united.
Meet the Author – Jordan H. Bartlett:
Jordan H. Bartlett is a New Zealand-born Canadian with a love for children’s literature and female empowerment. She grew up reading books about boys for boys and found it hard to find a strong female heroine she could relate to. Bartlett wrote Contest of Queens to give young readers that character she so longed for in a world where gender norms are reversed. Bartlett currently resides in Banff, Alberta where she works as a Speech Language Pathologist and is a certified yoga instructor.
connect with the author: website ~ facebook ~ instagram ~ goodreads
An Interview with Jordan Bartlett
When did you first know you wanted to be an author?
I always loved writing, and I remember distinctly the moment I decided I wanted to publish a novel. I was 15 years old and I had just watched the movie The Bucket List with Morgan Freeman. Now, of course at 15, I felt like my life was speeding by without me and I decided to write a bucket list of my own to make sure I did everything I wanted to do before the inevitable end. Number 1 on that list was to have coffee with my favourite author at the time, and number 2 was to publish a novel. If I’m honest, I thought number 1 would be an easier achievement! But it wasn’t until 2017—around a decade later—that I decided I might as well get a jump start on number 2, and that’s when I began writing with the intention of becoming an author.
When you are not writing, what other hats do you wear? What do you do for fun?
I am a Speech Language Pathologist by trade and a certified yoga instructor. If I’m honest, I have far too many hobbies to count—crochet, sewing, knitting, leather working to name a few—which I think stems from an at times problematic train of thought that starts with: “that looks cool, it can’t be that hard.” I love to kayak, hike, and bike. I am an avid reader, and I love exploring new places through travel or books.
What is your favorite genre to read? What about that genre draws you?
Fantasy is my favourite genre—there’s just something so compelling about entering an entirely new world. C.S. Lewis said something along the lines of: “If I find in myself desires nothing in this world can satisfy, I can only conclude that I was not made for here” (sorry if that’s a misquote!) and I think that beautifully sums up that wanderlust of the imagination that fantasy is able to satisfy.
What is your favorite thing about this time of year? And why?
Well, March is an interesting month in my experience because it has meant drastically different things. I’ve lived equal parts of my life in New Zealand and Canada—this means that the seasons are opposites. When I lived in New Zealand, March meant a closing of Summer and I absolutely love Autumn (the scarves, the boots, the changing colors, the influx of everything cozy!). But in Canada, March is the light at the end of a long, cold, snowy tunnel that is our endless winter! So, I guess my favourite thing about this time of year regardless of where I’ve been is the promise of change.
What historical figure do you admire and why?
This is a really tricky question, not because I don’t admire anyone, but because there are so many historical figures I find fascinating. At the moment, I am fascinated by the female pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read. They gave up lives on land for lives at sea—and had to dress as men at first to boot. The most interesting part about Anne Bonny’s story is that, while it was pretending to be a man that got her on the ships, it was pleading the belly (claiming she was pregnant) that saved her from the gallows when she and her crew were finally caught by the authorities. Her last words to her paramore, Calico Jack, were allegedly: “If you had fought like a man, you wouldn’t be about to die like a dog.” Now, if that doesn’t spark imagination’s fire, I don’t know what will.
Who did you have in mind as you wrote the book?
I had little me in mind as I wrote this book. There was a series of moments I remember experiencing growing up where I realized that it didn’t matter how smart I was or how hard I tried, I would be treated differently simply because I was a girl. When you’re a kid, it doesn’t make sense, you’re still learning the social stories we tell one another that normalize the views we have of boys and girls. And it’s the little things, it’s smiling at an inappropriate comment rather than saying anything because I didn’t want to be impolite, it’s hearing my teacher explain why I needed to show compassion to my bully because he was having a hard time at school, it’s all these accommodations we as women end up making for the ease of men when the same courtesy is rarely returned. Aren’t we all just human?
At the end of the day, I believe that people are people are people: give one group power and how they shape the world may look different, but there will always be those who are corrupted by it, and those who use it to fight for what’s right. So, I set out to write a book that gently questions these norms. What would happen if the roles were reversed? Obviously, it wouldn’t be better, so what ways would it be different? How absurd are the assumptions and values we have around gender in our world when we see them turned on their head in my world?
As a former K-12 school librarian I have to ask – what is your favorite children’s book?
Oh! I could no sooner choose a favourite star in the heavens! The ones that shaped me were: The Harry Potter Series; Unicorns of Balinor by Mary Stanton; and The Karazan Quartet by V.M. Jones.
What advice would you give to a child or teen who wants to be a writer?
Just start writing! Every word you put to paper is practice. With every sentence you hone your skills, and every paragraph brings you one step closer to a story you can be proud of. It is such a blessing to have stories within your heart and head, and an even greater gift to be able to share them with others. Just start writing! And keep reading!
Thanks for joining me today. It is always interesting to learn more about the author behind the book.
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Views expressed in this interview/guest post do not necessarily reflect the views of this blog host.
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[…] To MLM Opinion’s Reviews– book review of QUEEN’S CATACOMBS / giveawayApr 7 –Library Lady’s Kid Lit – book spotlight / author interview / giveawayApr 7 – Library Lady’s Kid […]
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