Book Spotlight – The Magical Muse

By M.J. Moores on May 2, 2015 • ( 3 )

Stories of fantasy ranging from dark, to light and inspiring, bring to life to this anthology. The creatures featured throughout, both good and evil, display the devastating or wonderful personalities they were given by the authors who created them for your enjoyment.

The Magical Muse is a compilation of short stories based on a year-long writing contest through my authors’ publishing & promotional business Dragon Knight Chronicles. How the contest came to exist isn’t quite as easy to explain as the fact that it does exist – lol! I guess the main reason I developed the idea was that I wanted to help fellow authors break into print or expand their writing experience. At the beginning I was an active member on the LinkedIn group, Aspiring Writers Short Story Competitions & Discussions. They had a monthly contest but it didn’t really focus in on my favored genre… fantasy! So instead of trying to work around their prompts I decided to create my own contest and monthly prompts. Presently we are expanding the prompts to wider audiences but the main focus will always stay true to our fantasy roots. ~ Kathryn Jenkins

When asked how the magic of their piece spoke to the truth of their story, The Magical Muse contributors responded with…

We are the magic. The magic of my piece speaks my belief that the truth of power lies within a person. It’s not what you do or are; it’s your actions and intent that speaks volumes. Also, experience and life play key parts in my drafting of this story. I wrote the first page when I was eighteen and couldn’t finish it. The page sat in a drawer for many decades. Occasionally, I would pull it out and read it, but nothing seemed to fit, until I noticed the Dragon Knight Chronicles contest. Then I realized I could not have completed this story without more experience and the rest of the piece and ending just slid into place effortlessly. ~ Andrea R. Cooper

I wrote “The Hounds of Alazoth” from the perspective of a pack of villainous hell hounds. They are bound to a dark master, whose demonic magic is always directed against humanity and its Creator. The essence of the story is in the life and death struggle between the beasts and the men they are hunting. The larger truth behind the story, and the entire series, is of the spiritual battle taking place between good and evil, the Dark Master and the Creator. Which will prevail in the end is a much longer tale that has yet to unfold. ~ Allison D. Reid

“Trisha’s Escape” is about a young half-blood that finds out who her father is in the mix of trying to stay alive. I am a big fan of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series and was inspired to create my own world of Half-Blood’s. The Halloween dark fantasy prompt was perfect for me to let Trisha out and have a bit of adventure. This short story is actually the starting point for my YA novel in process “The Seeker’s Core”. ~ KJ Hawkins

“Christmas Festival” was written for the November/December prompt which asked the writer to compose a festive piece using fantasy characters. I love the Christmas Season, fantasy, elves, fairies, gnomes, etc… Plus, I had been experimenting writing in the ‘young adult’ genre, so it just seemed natural to write a short story on young elves and the magic inherent in them. Fantasy and magic have long been a big part of my life, so most of it comes naturally for me. I do a lot of research, because of being a perfectionist; I also want to be magically correct. There are so many different types of elves, fairies, gnomes, and other magical beings. Research helps me remain close to the truth in my stories.~ D.B. Mauldin

The Magical Muse comprises of:

Alexis Lantgen who brings a twist to the story of a fairy changeling, showing a dark evil intent behind a mythological practice.

Andrea R. Cooper turns a dark fantasy tale into a lyrical piece that tests your understanding of your own mind.

George L. Duncan features a creature many never saw coming as the source of justice in a corrupt world.

Dark fantasy takes a humorous twist with Oz Durose, who introduces us to a new type of zombie that makes you regret deleting the files off your very own computer… readers beware!

Mythological hounds are a foreshadowing of doom for one man seeking refuge from a deadly chase. Allison D. Reid brings a tale of adventure as seen through the eyes of the hounds and their mysterious master, born from the darkness of hell.

Demons lurking throughout this tale bring a monster into the world. A demi-god finds out her fate as KJ Hawkins spins a tale of triumph and fear.

Matthew Frassetti presses the will of a man trying to save his lover from the hands of a demon. The bonds of friendship between man and beast are tested as this tale of adventure takes a twist.

Brendan Carroll brings a brilliantly fun, entertaining story to life, showing how in the midst of everyday beauty time simply passes when you least expect it.

Khushi Agarwal tests the power of Christmas cheer with elves on strike. Will Christmas come on time, or will it be ruined for all?

And the holidays are here as D.B. Mauldin brings a hard working elf into the spotlight for a special Christmas festival.

Buy The Magical Muse for .99c @

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Read Excerpts Here

Dragon Knight Chronicles or DKC was founded in May of 2013 by Kathryn Jenkins. Kathryn started with a blog which hosted a short story writing competition, but what began as a site to help self-published authors break into print started growing into something more as new authors signed on.

We are working towards creating a home away from home on the web for fantasy authors, where they can find support and offer support to other authors in return. It’s a place for them to grow in their knowledge and skills in the indie publishing world. Our future is only as bright as the authors that walk through the door. We are in the process of joining teams with The Book Stalker, and who knows what else the future may bring. We are looking forward to working with the many brilliant authors we know are out there just waiting to share their talent with the world!

At DKC, we believe that every author is capable of being great… for some it just might be how they are going about promoting themselves. ~ K. Jenkins