New Release and Review: Immortal Writers by Jill Bowers

Immortal Writers
by Jill Bowers

Description:
Young up-and-coming author Liz McKinnen has no idea that her life is about to change forever when she comes home from her first book tour.

When she's kidnapped and told by her captors that she has to kill her fantasy book's antagonist, she thinks that she's fallen into the hands of crazy, dangerous fans... until her antagonist sends a real, fire-breathing dragon after her. Liz is quickly initiated into the Immortal Writers, a group of authors from throughout time whose words have given them eternal life, and whose prose is so powerful that it's brought stories over from the Imagination Field into the Reality Field.

As Liz meets authors such as William Shakespeare, JRR Tolkien, Edgar Allan Poe, and Jane Austen, she has to learn how to control magic, fight dragons, and face her own troubled past before her power-hungry villain takes over the world. Will she survive the ultimate battle against the dragon lord whom she created?

My Review:
Immortal Writers takes a rather literal spin to finding immortality through the written word. Imagine learning, as an author, that your plot twists, dashing heroes, and darkest villains have come to life. Not just come to life in the minds of your readers, but in reality. All I can say is Liz has her work cut out for her.

First off, I love how the story brings to life some of the things writers often say about writing. That they’ll live on through their words, that their characters take over the story, that the story itself has to happen the way it does, despite their intentions. I’ve felt this in my own writing, but to imagine that all of this might happen because the story is becoming real is just mind-blowing.
I also love which authors were chosen to be featured in this story and how they’re portrayed. Poe is one of my favorite characters in the story, mostly because of how the other authors react to him. But as a fantasy/sci fi fan, I particularly loved how Anne McCaffrey, J.R.R Tolkien, and even Gene Rodenberry make an appearance. And not just an appearance, some of them get involved in the plot personally. There’s mostly an air of fantasy, but also a few elements of sci fi, based on the writer’s who’ve been immortalized and the aspects of their writing that have leaked into the real world.
Now, all that’s related to the premise, but the story itself, the struggle and the romance and the personal growth of the main character, Liz, are all handled exceptionally well. It’s a satisfying read, and Liz’s story seems complete at the end.

That being said, there were points where the famous authors’ cameos made me roll my eyes. Just a little cheesy at times. And it was funny that Shakespeare seems to be the leader of all the immortal writers.

For folks looking for a book club read, there are some questions at the end specifically for that. In my opinion, this story would make an interesting discussion topic, particularly in book clubs where the members also enjoy writing.

Overall, I loved this book. I think folks who like to write, whether published or not, will be entranced by this story and the way it unfolds. Fantasy and sci fi fans in particular will dig the references to their genre and likely their favorite authors.

I received the review copy of this book from NetGalley.


About the Author:

Jill Bowers is a technical writer by day and a fantasy author by night. She is one of two composers-in-residence for the Westminster Bell Choir and has a great love for all music. She used to be the writer and host for the award-winning radio show Olde Tyme Radio on the Aggie Radio Station at USU and has dabbled in stage play writing as well.

Jill enjoys attending Utah's Comic Con and Fantasy Con and has an unhealthy attachment to Netflix. She lives in Utah and has a lovely dachshund that needs to lose weight because she probably doesn't get enough walks and is too cute to not feed. Jill attended Utah State University for their creative writing program, where she actually specialized in creative nonfiction rather than fiction. However, Jill loves delving into different worlds in fantasy and sci-fi novels and is excited to have people enter the worlds she has created.

Author Links:
w: www.immortalauthor.com/
t: @Jilliard08
f: facebook.com/immortalauthorjill
g: goodreads.com/user/show/2509616-jill-bowers
p: pinterest.com/jilliard08/
i: instagram.com/jilliard08/
y: youtube.com/channel/UC4FH9bS51qVga7rPot7awTw

**Updated 05NOV2017 with Author Info and Links!**