Donna Maree Hanson, Author, Phd in Creative Writing

At the RWA conference in Sydney (All that glitters) I heard that Romantasy is the hot sell these days. What is romantasy? Apparently, a secondary world fantasy where there is romance (and action I expect). Sarah J Maas was given as an example. Young adult/new adult readership perhaps.

Well I have a series that fits the romantasy bill, The Silverlands, Argenterra, Oathbound and Ungiven Land. It’s three rather long books, with three heroines and their loves. Sophie, Aria who pass through to Argenterra and Rae who is a native of the land.

Recently I found some reviews of Argenterra. This one is from KS Nikakis on Goodreads and I’m over the moon that she liked it. I respect her work immensely.

This story started in a way that led me to believe it was going to be a lot simpler than it was. A time slip adventure, I decided. However as it went on, the story became a lot more complex. Things that seemed one thing, slowly evolved into something else, with a lot of questions and doubts in between. The worlds became multi-layered and the characters’ motivations similarly so. The prose also gained momentum and power as the story progressed, and really hit its stride. By the time I reached the end of Book 1, I was reading a complex fantasy story up there with the best.

Part of the blurb

In a land where oaths can’t be broken, be careful what promises you make. To break the binding oath is to risk the very magic of Argenterra. Best friends, Sophy and Aria, are on a family trip in Scotland when they find themselves swept away to another world. The lush land of Argenterra is imbued heavily with a magic known as the GIVEN – but while Aria adapts quickly, able to use and recognize the magic as naturally as if she’d been born in this world, Sophy struggles to find her place. Far from discovering her own magical gifts, Sophy is unable to feel the GIVEN at all. Something about the magic has warped and changed her appearance and she’s lost her vibrancy, becoming a mere shadow of her former self. Previously the attractive, outgoing one, now she is ugly and unable to fit in, whereas Aria has grown in confidence. As Aria thrives, quickly falling in love with a dashing prince, Sophy fights to survive in an increasingly hostile and deadly realm.

Here is the link to the series’ page. I also have a free (or cheap) prequel novella about the discovery of Argenterra. Click on Argenterra cover image to take you to the books page.

I often get asked, which of my books is my favourite and that’s a hard question to answer. They are all my favourite. I might love the setting, the characters, the stories…I wrote them so of course I love them. Argenterra was the first fantasy novel story I ever wrote so it’s always going to have a special place for me. It’s quirky and when I reread it I get sucked in because I love Sophy and Oakheart so much. I love the land and the magic and I want to revisit the place again. I even have a title but I haven’t started it-Vorn reborn.