Lee J Mavin is the author of 11 books. He is also a teacher and father. He has a Masters in Creative Writing and am solely focused on writing fiction (fantasy and horror) and poetry. He is
now in collaboration the illustrator Karolina Piotrowski, a Polish artist who has brought many stories to life. He has worked and studied in China and Japan and studied with Dr Xiaohuan Zhao (a master of Chinese poetry) to complete his book Li Bai’s Shadow, at the University of Sydney. He has two children who are both avid readers, so he is always in the loop with trends in children’s fiction. He is married and lives in Sydney, where he teaches English.
His latest book is the YA fantasy, The Wars Between.
Visit his website at leejmavin.com.
Connect with him on social media at:
╰┈➤ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lee.mavin.925/
╰┈➤ Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/mavin798
╰┈➤ Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5103759.Lee_J_Mavin
╰┈➤ TikTok ➜ https://www.tiktok.com/@
Can you tell us how you got started writing fiction?
I have been writing fiction since I was in grade three. I have been making my mother read my stories ever since. I was into Roald Dahl and Paul Jennings and loved to write fantasy stories and still do.
Describe your writing process. Do you plot or write by the seat of your pants? When and where do you write?
I normally come up with a climax or ending first and then work backwards. Or sometimes I create a character first and build a world around them from their perspective. I write early in the morning when everyone else is asleep and in my classroom when all my students have gone home.
Can you tell us about your most recent release?
My latest book is The Wars Between. The Wars Between is a fantasy young adult novel that was inspired by the invasion of Ukraine. It is a novel about Outis Everrett and simple young poet, who journeys across the sea to bring change to the world. In this world there are three main countries, one being a monarchy: Asalandia of which Outis is from. Another being Kastanair, a democratic country that has been at war with Asalandia for thousands of years. The other country is Syanthia, that is the centre of trade. They claim to be neutral in the ongoing wars and benefit from producing all the weapons for Asalandia and Kastanair. They also produce most of the meat. Gwenia Xiachung, a young girl who is determined to travel to Syanthia and stop all meat production as she is a vegan activist. On her way, she meets Outis and everything changes.
How did you get the idea for the book?
The book is inspired by the war in Ukraine and the character Nobody Important, who is the title of my children's picture book.
Of all your characters, which one is your favorite? Why?
I love Outis and Gwenia, the main two characters as they are flawed, funny and pure.
What was the most challenging aspect of writing your book?
I think editing and getting the names write as I invented a new world so I have to spell foreign sounding names and nationalities that I invented consistently.
What projects are you currently working on?
I am working on The Angelic Fallen: the sequel to The Wars Between which is set hundreds of years after the events of The War Between.
Outis Everrett, the disappointment of his family, a measly poet, is suddenly thrusted into an epic adventure across the sea, with the King’s blessing. His poem, the poem that somehow won the first annual Asalandian poetry competition, was meant to be taken across the seas, to the enemy island of Kastanair, there, it would be read by the President of Kastanair, the newly elected and very progressive, Penelope Chinwa and she was supposed stop the war after reading those so special words.
So Outis set sail aboard the Golden ship, guided and protected by the Knights of Sunrise and their adventures began. The Knights are led by Bartholemew Aries, the most famous soldier in Asalandia, though when their ship drifts off course to the mysterious island of Aquos Atalantious, the Princess of the island soon lures him to stay. So, the Knights of Sunrise become distracted by the beauties of this foreign island. After failing to find the prince, who had been taken by a monstrous octopus, the Golden ship sails onto Kastanair, without its leader, who had fallen in love with the Princess. They then sail to Syanthia, where the worlds’ meat was produced. There they meet, the young Kastanairian, Gwenia Xiachung, an enthusiastic vegan on a mission to stop everyone eating meat. Outis is thrown into a pig saving mission with Gwenia and is intrigued by the young girl. After saving the pigs and convincing the head of meat production to change his ways with a beautiful poem about animal empathy, Gwenia falls in love with Outis. She joins him and the Knights of Sunrise on the voyage to back to her country, Kastanair. Once they finally reach the shores of Kastanair, they are attacked on the shores by a small army, led by Caslian Jesper, the tough captain who worked his soldiers to exhaustion. The Knights, Outis and Gwenia are rescued by Nastab and his band of terrorists who take them on horseback through Kastanair to Mount Xian. Nastab and his men come from a rebel group who had been dwelling on the plateau of Mount Xian, plotting to overthrow the government of Kastanair. However, their leader, who had driven their group to crimes and violence, was hoarding their food and treasure.
Caslian Jesper follows the terrorists to Mount Xian, in pursuit of two of his enemies at once, the terrorists and the Asalandians. Outis and Gwenia are suddenly taken off their horses by huge hawks, who fly them up Mount Xian, to a cave opening. There Gwenia and Outis meet The Tall Man, a strange man with huge black eyes who has no name. He takes them into the cave, and they fall more tall people. There they learn that the tall people had been in the caves for hundreds of years and they care not for treasures of war. The tall man collects water from an underground stream and fruits from the cave roofs and they take Outis and Gwenia up to the top of the mountain. There they find Caslian’s army had managed to climb to the top of the mountain in attempt to attack but they were too drained to fight so the tall man shared his fruit with them. Both sides rested as Outis read a poem to the leader of the terrorists.
Outis and Gwenia are then taken to the capital, by an eclectic group including Nastab, The Tall Man and the Knights of Sunrise, they journey through the planes of Kastanair where they are attacked by wolves. The Knights and Nastab fight the wolves off valiantly and they continue. When they finally reach the capital Outis reads his poem to the President, but it is not the words of his poem alone that convince her to stop the war, it is the group he brings with him, a group of once enemies, who had come together with the same goal.
The Wars Between is available at Amazon.
╰┈➤Book Details
- Genre: YA Fantasy
- Language:English
- Pages: 300
