Maps, character art, insider information―all things that let our imaginations run wild as we try to figure out what might come next in the story or where the characters go after the book has ended.
In this episode of A Book and A Dream, Megan O'Russell explains how, as an author, her goal is to allow readers to escape into new worlds filled with adventure.
With the files full of notes that came from writing Inker and Crown and the Ena of Ilbrea Series, a bounty of imagination-inducing Ilbrean details is now available to all.
Visit https://meganorussell.com/ilbrea and see for yourself!
Maps, character art, insider information―all things that let our imaginations run wild as we try to figure out what might come next in the story or where the characters go after the book has ended.
In this episode of A Book and A Dream, Megan O'Russell explains how, as an author, her goal is to allow readers to escape into new worlds filled with adventure.
With the files full of notes that came from writing Inker and Crown and the Ena of Ilbrea Series, a bounty of imagination-inducing Ilbrean details is now available to all.
Visit https://meganorussell.com/ilbrea and see for yourself!
Megan: [00:00:03] If you're still looking for your true love in life, maybe check their Photoshop qualifications, because it turns out sometimes that's, like, real useful.
Announcer: [00:00:16] Welcome to A Book and A Dream with Megan O'Russell: an Author's Adventure in Writing, Reading, and Being an Epic Fangirl.
Megan: [00:00:27] Hello, my name is Megan O'Russell, and welcome to Episode 33 of A Book and A Dream. I have some absolutely thrilling news to share with you. It has been in the works for quite a while, and it is finally done. And I am thrilled to announce that the Ilbrean section of MeganORussell.com is finally ready.
Megan: [00:00:50] Now, if you already know what Ilbrea is and you are very excited and want to head over right away, just go to meganorussell.com (and that's with two S's and two l's) /ilbrea (i-l-b-r-e-a), and you will find all of the lovely goodies. Now for those of you who have not dived into Ember and Stone in the Ena of Ilbrea series or have not heard about Inker and Crown, which is a part of the Guilds of Ilbrea series, Ilbrea is the world in which both of those stories exist and it is a very large and expansive world that will eventually have seven series.
Megan: [00:01:28] At least... I don't know. I always say I'm going to write a trilogy and I end up with four books. So who knows how many series I'm actually going to end up with in the end? I can hear my cover designer laughing at me every time I say the word trilogy. She knows it's a joke.
Megan: [00:01:39] It's always gonna be four. But anyway, so at least seven series in Ilbrea, and there is so much law that goes into the world and the political structure and the geography and all of these super cool things.
Megan: [00:01:53] And I have had them on my computer for years as I have been developing this world and working in this world.
Megan: [00:01:59] And I wanted to be able to share it with my readers. And the Ilbrea page on MeganORussell.com has been my way to do that.
Megan: [00:02:10] As a reader, I love extras. I, I've said it before on the video and in the A Book and A Dream podcast that I love maps in books. I love getting to see exactly where everything is placed on a continent. I love those details and some things, like, if you are an Eragón fan, go to Christopher Paolini's website. He has an entire lexicon. He has a series of videos about all of the lore of that world.
Megan: [00:02:35] If you have never explored the Grishaverse with Leigh Bardugo, check out her website. She has so much incredible information. And there's gonna be a lot more information as the TV show based on the Grishaverse comes out.
Megan: [00:02:48] Like, that site's going to explode. So check it out now. While it's still like a manageable amount and then you can, like, build in with the fandom. But I think things like those Web sites and things like the Ilbrea page and things like the random Star Wars series that spun off of the movies and all of those different things are what help fans really dive into a world because, yeah, as you look at something like Eragón, you fell in love with the story because it's this coming of age story with a boy with a dragon. And it's actually like not hokey. That's great.
Megan: [00:03:23] But why people became super fans of those books, so much so that they told the people sitting next to them at the movie that they were really going to like the movie and then had to apologize mid-movie because it wasn't good. I'm not insulting Christopher Paolini. He said so himself. He didn't think it was good either.
Megan: [00:03:39] That is not the plot of the original book. It is the amount of world that you have been given to explore how deep you have been able to dive in. And that deep worldbuilding exists in Ilbrea. And I want fans to be able to see that it is there that there is a map, there are all these things.
Megan: [00:04:02] And so what's on the Ilbrea Web page right now, and as new series are added and as new words are added and images are added, the page is going to continue to grow. This is the very small groundwork. So what's right there right now is we have a map of Ilbrea, which is absolutely beautiful. I hired, err, hired an amazing mapmaker. That map is also going to be in both the paperback and the e-book of Inker and Crown. So that's exciting. There's also more of a description of how the different series in the Ilbrea world will come together. There is a timeline, for Ilbrea, because I have already had readers being like, wait a second, do I read Inker and Crown first or do I read Feather and Flame first. Read Father and Flame First if you're already in the middle of the Ena series. If you're not already in the middle of the Ena series, you can do it either way.
Megan: [00:04:54] It's... It's a kind of goes back and forth, whatever you like, but finish Ena's series before jumping in into Inker and Crown if you're already there.
Megan: [00:05:03] There is also a lexicon. So it goes through all of the different words that are in this area. So, you know, things like what does chivving really translate the most closely to? It also has things like, you know, how does one define a petal whore?
Megan: [00:05:21] And in the Ena of Ilbrea series, which is the Ilbrean series that is currently completely released, you do hear about the Guilds, the Inker and Crown Series, which is the Guilds of Ilbrea series, does have a lot more information on the Guilds.
Megan: [00:05:34] It has all the saints and the structures and the lords and those things. And, you know, not all of it's really important.
Megan: [00:05:42] So you're not really going to get a lot of details on it. I don't believe in bogging readers down with details that they don't need to keep moving with the story. We can keep going. You'll get it when you need it, I promise.
Megan: [00:05:53] But because I have all of that information, it is all now laid out. So what the guild symbols are, saints, politics, lords. All of those things are available on the site for you now.
Megan: [00:06:05] And I am so incredibly lucky to have an amazing husband who just happens to be able to use Photoshop, because I had a map maker and then I had a bunch of just typed notes and weird "I did it with my stylus on my laptop" drawings, which nobody needs to see. And he managed to take those things and turn it into something beautiful.
Megan: [00:06:28] So, you know, if you're still looking for your true love in life, maybe check their Photoshop qualifications, because it turns out sometimes that's like really useful. So a huge thank you to my husband for making all of the beautiful images and making the text so pretty.
Megan: [00:06:46] So definitely, definitely check it out and explore Ilbrea. Explore the map. Enjoy the books. We all need an escape right now. And I want to give you the best possible opportunity to escape into Ilbrea. I want you to become a part of this world with me. And if you see anything on there and you're like, wait a second, I want to know more about the mapmakers. I want to know more about... feel free to email me. There is more background information that is not on that site. So if you really need to know someone's genealogy, I am happy to share that with you. It's not up there yet. It probably will be eventually. But, you know, any questions you have about the world? I am here for you. So many notes. There are so many notes. And I would love to share more Ilbrean love with all of you. Now, make sure that you tune in next week for our special guest episode of A Book and A Dream, where I will be talking to Mark Halberg, who runs the Fandom Effect podcast. Now, it's a little bit outside our normal wheelhouse for the guests that we talk to. They're usually book podcasters, authors, things like that.
Megan: [00:07:55] The really cool thing about Mark is that he basically specializes in being a superfan, from MMA to anime to comic books, literally like he is a superfan. It's what he does in many different areas. And the world is crazy. Things are crazy. I've recently gone back into rehearsal for a show in the theater, which is great, but we're wearing masks and staying six feet apart. So crazy. And we all need a little light in our lives and something extra to love. So Mark will be giving his recommendations on how best to find your new obsession and become a part of that world so that, you know, you can become the ultimate Whovian while going through whatever other madness 2020 has to throw at us. So make sure you tune in for that. And please go to www.MeganORussell.com/Ilbrea (I-L-B-R-E-A) and check it out. Not only because my amazing husband made beautiful, beautiful images for it, but also because there is so much in that world to share. And I'm so excited now. Hopefully next week I will also have some more updates on audio for you.
Megan: [00:09:12] And in the meantime, have a great week and enjoy. I'll see you next time.