Author Guest Post with Kale Lawrence, The Magi Menagerie

Some stars aren’t meant to be followed.

Welcome to one of the February 2nd stops on the blog tour for The Magi Menagerie by Kale Lawrence with XPresso Book Tours. Be sure to follow the rest of the tour for spotlights, reviews, author guest posts & interviews, and a giveaway! More on that at the end of this post.

Please note that this post contains affiliate links, which means there is no additional cost to you if you shop using my links, but I will earn a small percentage in commission. A program-specific disclaimer is at the bottom of this post.

Author Guest Post

I like to think of the writing process as a recipe. There’s no one “right way” to create a story and everyone has their own secret ingredients to mix in. With that in mind, here’s a sneak peek into how I put together all the pieces of a story.

The Idea Phase

This is by far the most enjoyable phase of the writing process. I love basking in ideas and asking the “what ifs” while mapping out the story. In the beginning, I might not have a clear direction, but I know the gist of where I want to go. I’ll “cast” characters by looking up actors or models that fit their descriptions. Using those photos, I’ll set up character profiles for them in a program called Living Writer. This is also where I’ll make notes on settings, aesthetics, or anything that comes to mind.

Pinterest is always a huge source of inspiration during this phase, and you can bet your bottom dollar I spend plenty of time researching everything, down to the clothing/costumes. (Hey, you gotta know how to describe how they look!)

I also use a project management tool called Trello for coming up with the story structure and plot. The biggest reason is the ease of dragging and dropping the cards around in case I want to move something back in the timeline or to a different act altogether. 

The Research Phase

With the baseline notes in place, I start pulling information from online sources and learn as much as I can about the theme, setting, or time frame of the story. Honestly, this seems to happen simultaneously with writing, but I do give myself a bit of background before diving in. My favorite resources are Google Maps (particularly street view so I can virtually stalk my settings) and official sites for places in my story (for The Magi Menagerie, I spent a lot of time on the pages of Belfast Royal Academy and the British Museum.) My goal is to find multiple sources saying the same thing wherever possible. (That’s my past journalist training coming out.)

The Mapping Phase

Once I have my brainstorm madness recorded, I go back and map out the entire story, act by act, scene by scene. This is incredibly helpful since I wrote in three perspectives in The Magi Menagerie, and I needed to ensure certain information came out at their respective times. I’ll go back to Trello for this and then transfer over the “finished” version of the timeline to Living Writer.

The Writing Phase

The scenes have been set, the curtains drawn, and now…it begins. While I tend to write fairly chronologically, there are times when I get stuck and opt to hop forward for the sake of progress. I’ve even heard some authors will write the end of their story first and then go back and start from the beginning. Honestly, it’s whatever works for you as the storyteller. But with writing comes multiple passes of editing, restructuring, writing again, editing, and polishing. The work is only done when you hand in your final file to the publisher/printers. 

What are the steps of your writing process? Leave them in the comments! And while you’re at it, connect with me on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. I’d love to hear from you!

About the Book

The Magi Menagerie
The Magi Menagerie Book One
by Kale Lawrence

Published 7 September 2021
EnchantFire Books

Genre: YA Historical Fantasy
Page Count: 345
Add it to your Goodreads TBR!

Some stars aren’t meant to be followed.

For seventeen years, Ezra Newport and his parents were habitual immigrants, traveling from their Ottoman Empire home across 20th century Europe. As the Newports migrate to Belfast, Ireland, Ezra wants nothing more to settle into a consistent life and lay the foundation of his architectural dreams. But after a strange, mechanical bounty hunter murders his mother and prompts the disappearance of his father, Ezra discovers that his parents had actually been on the run. Now, their enemies are targeting him, and they won’t stop until he is dead.

In a moment of desperation, Ezra’s fate collides with the Third Order of the Magi, a secret society dedicated to using their supernatural powers to protect their communities. With increasing violence around the world, the Magi are fairly certain they know who’s behind the attacks on Ezra and his family since the same group could also be threatening their own existence.

Both Ezra and the Magi’s survival hinges on knowledge only Ezra’s father has and the key to saving them could be buried within history itself. In a race across continents and time, both Ezra and the Magi must secure an ancient Babylonian artifact before hell is unleashed on the world. And, against all odds, Ezra must decide where his allegiances truly lie, despite what is written in the stars.

Amazon US | Amazon CA | Amazon UK

About the Author

Since the early age of 6, Kale Lawrence knew she either wanted to be an astronaut or an author. Obviously, the astronaut gig didn’t work out, so instead, Kale turned to fantastic fictional worlds. When Kale is not writing creatively, she works as a Marketing Manager at a pet product company, and pretends she’s an Olympic swimmer at the gym. She has also served as a board member for the South Dakota Writes organization.

In addition to books, Kale has lent her writing prowess to television, and her writing has been featured on nationwide PBS television programming, NBC newscasts, ABC newscasts, and the Travel Channel.

Kale currently lives in Sioux Falls, South Dakota with her feisty tortoiseshell calico cat, Emma Bug and sassy Siamese, Seattle Bean.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok | Amazon | Goodreads

Giveaway Alert!

Tour-wide giveaway (US only)
A signed paperback of The Magi Menagerie + a $25 Amazon Gift Card

Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.