It has been said many times that if the book you want to read hasn’t been written yet, then you have to be the one to go and write it. Which is probably why my books always contain the tropes, characters, and types of adventures that I most like to read. My upcoming YA fantasy ‘The Crystal Tree’ (Available August 1st!) is definitely no exception. Today I thought it might be fun to share five of my favourite book tropes and devices that also made their way into my book. With bonus quotes, because why not?
Strong Sibling Relationships
If there is one thing I desperately want to see more of in books, it’s strong sibling relationships. I just love those strong sibling teams, brothers and sisters who can drive each other nuts and absolutely have each other’s backs. I like sibling relationships so much that I wrote two pairs into ‘The Crystal Tree’. Briar and her sister Ava are as close as two sisters can be. Which absolutely doesn’t mean that they don’t fight, but also does mean that one sister will brave certain death for the other. I have quite a few sisters myself, who I am quite close to, so writing sisters with strong relationships is something I absolutely wanted to do.
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There. A small, familiar figure slipped out of the crush and hurried towards Briar. She grinned and stepped forward. “Ava.” Briar caught her sister up in a hug, squeezing her tight. “I missed you.”
“Ouch. You’re hurting me.” Ava wriggled free, glaring at Briar.
“I’ve got a lot of hugs to catch up on.”
“Yeah, well you don’t have to give them to me all at once.” Ava folded her arms. A cheeky little breeze swept the straggling strands of hair that slipped from her tight braids across her face. Ava blew at them, ruining her tough attitude completely.
(‘The Crystal Tree’ Chapter 2)
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Then there’s Rowen and Lara, a travelling brother-sister duo. These were the most fun to write. They tease each other. They get on each other’s nerves. They are super competitive sometimes. And they would absolutely lay everything on the line if the other one was in danger. I love sibling pairs who are super loyal, but also don’t get on 100% of the time, and can have a little bit of rivalry and banter along the way. More siblings who get on and actually like each other please!
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“There’s Rowen.” Lara pointed ahead. “Come on you two.” She broke into a slow jog, waving to her brother, who stood by the boat. He raised a hand in reply.
“What took so long?” he called as they reached him.
“Buying enough food to fill your greedy stomach.” Lara swept past him and onto the plank laid between the dock and the ferry. “I assume you paid our passage already?”
Rowen rolled his eyes and shared an amused glance with Briar. “Of course I did. I’m not completely useless.”
“Could have fooled me,” Lara called over her shoulder.
(‘The Crystal Tree’ Chapter 20)
Strong Females
I always believe that there should be more strong females in fiction. No more of these damsels in distress who need someone to save them. I also believe that you can have strong females, particularly in fantasy, who aren’t kick-butt sword wielding warriors who can do everything the men can do. Not that they shouldn’t be as good as men. But it doesn’t all have to be about fighting. ‘The Crystal Tree’ has both, because I still do have a soft spot for girl-warriors. Lara is the kick-butt one, self-sufficient and adept with a sword, and playing with the big boys when it comes to survival and combat. She doesn’t need anyone to save her.
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“Come on. Let’s go find this gate.” Lara hitched her pack up and set off down the dock. “I’d trust the soldiers over a sailor any day, no matter what Rowen thinks.” She cast a look over her shoulder in her brother’s general direction.
“I thought you didn’t like soldiers.” Briar hurried to keep up, her new pack bumping on her back uncomfortably.
“I don’t. But we’re not the suspicious ones, are we? Without Kade, we should be perfectly safe.”
Well, apart from the sword hanging from Lara’s belt, the huge packs on their backs, and Briar’s travel-stained habit, no they weren’t suspicious at all.
(‘The Crystal Tree’ Chapter 20)
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Briar on the other hand, is not a fighter. She’s a magician. She’s the one with the stubbornness and drive to keep going, even in the face of enormous danger. She saves other people’s lives, and finds a way past their problems that doesn’t always need brute strength. She might not be a fighter, but she’s stubborn and strong and isn’t going to let anything stop her. And she does it all in a dress. Who says girly-girls can’t quest?
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“Because you make me doubt that I can do this.” Briar’s words rang with an honesty that surprised her. “And I can’t afford to doubt myself. Not if I want to save Ava.”
“What if you can’t do it, though?”
“Then I’ll find out by trying. This isn’t about me.” Briar turned earnest eyes on Kade, willing him to understand. “This isn’t about me needing to prove something. This is about Ava. There is no one else to help her except for me. We lost everything and everyone we had either back in Osman or there in Astar. I might not have a chance, but I won’t know until I try.”
“You really are determined to go ahead with this crazy plan, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” Briar said simply.
(‘The Crystal Tree’ Chapter 13)
Magic And Also Music
One of my favourite things about fantasy in general is the magic. Just so much magic doing awesome, amazing things. Battles spells, healing spells, wands or staffs, whatever. Magic is just the coolest. Also music in books is something else I have a soft spot. As a musician myself, I love it when characters are super invested in music so that it becomes a big part of their lives and identities. In ‘The Crystal Tree’, I jammed the two together and turned music into a magic system. Because why not? Also I frequently misspell ‘musician’ as ‘magician’ and kinda just rolled with it.
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Briar hesitated, then curled her fingers lightly around his large, calloused hands and closed her eyes, listening for the sound of his life song. Every person had one, a song that embodied their soul. Each was unique, and only soul singers, like her and the other novices preparing their healings around her, could hear, let alone sing them. She didn’t really need to touch Bren to hear his life song, but it did help her to focus.
(‘The Crystal Tree’ Chapter 1)
Secrets
Secrets are the spice of life. Who doesn’t love a character with a mysterious past and secrets that leak out slowly like a pocket filled with sand? I love the reveal of secrets, big earth shattering ones, and little tiny ones that change the way you look at a character and their actions. So of course I wrote a bunch of secrets, because awesome, right? Briar has secrets, her friends have secrets, everyone has secrets. It’s fantastic.
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“It’s not like you’re eager to share either,” Kade snapped. “It goes both ways.”
Briar shot to her feet. No, no it didn’t. “I have shared everything from my life that could possibly be important. You’ve seen my home. You know where I’m going, and what I’m doing. Your past, the secrets I don’t know, they affect everything we do. I don’t know what to do, or what to say. I just hope for the best and do the wrong thing because I have no idea what’s really going on. And you don’t trust me enough to share.”
(‘The Crystal Tree’ Chapter 23)
A Quest Without A Chosen One
Don’t get me wrong, I love a good chosen one story. I have a real soft spot for characters who struggle under the burden of a destiny that was written for the in the stars long before they were ever born. But at the same time, I also love characters who are heroes not because they were chosen by a mysterious prophecy, but because they were ordinary people who stepped up to do extraordinary things. Anyone can be a hero if they choose to be. Briar is not a chosen one. She doesn’t have skills that no one else possesses. She’s just brave and determined, and takes the chance to save the world, even if it means sacrificing the things she wants the most.
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Briar knew death. She knew the way a life song stuttered and faded at the end. She knew what the final breath sounded like as it sighed away. She knew how people died in terror, choking on their fear. And she didn’t want to die. Not like that. Not alone and afraid. But she couldn’t give in either. Briar clenched her fists and lifted her chin, trying to find even the smallest spark of courage to carry her through. She had to be strong.
(‘The Crystal Tree’ Chapter 30)
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These are five of my favourite tropes, or devices in books that I love to read about, and that made appearances in my own upcoming book. Because as they say, write what you love. (And if they don’t say that, then they definitely should.) And hopefully you enjoyed this sneak peek inside ‘The Crystal Tree’. It’s hard to believe it comes out in less than two weeks now! But I’d love to hear from you what tropes, character types, or plot devices do you like to read? Which ones do you find yourself writing into your own books? What would like to see more of in books? (like strong female characters, sibling relationships etc.) Let’s chat in the comments!
If this post has helped convince you that ‘The Crystal Tree’ is a book you should read, then here’s what you should know. It comes out August 1st on Amazon, both in paperback and on Kindle. I highly recommend buying it (of course I do). And if you want to add it on Goodreads, then you can do that too. You’ll find it right HERE.
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