DETAILS
The Songs of Magic
by Kaelyn Hamm
362 pages
$26.99 hardcover
$19.99 softcover
Jazz Cat Publishing
Once in a blue moon, a young adult novel comes out and not only is it good, but it's also written by a young adult herself.
Meet St. Albert's Kaelyn Hamm, a recent university graduate with a degree in music who combined her two passions into The Songs of Magic.
"When I was little, I used to write ... well, attempt to write many stories. I remember that in middle school, when you're taking your provincial exams and they tell you to do some creative writing, I was always just on the wire for having enough time because I always wanted to write longer, and more stories," she began.
"Between semesters at university, I couldn't find a job the one summer, so I just figured, ‘Well, this is the perfect time now. I may as well write.’ I took a summer and I dedicated it to writing. I love music and I love stories, so I thought, ‘Why not pair them together?’"
The Songs of Magic was published at the beginning of the month. The young adult fantasy fiction novel is about a girl who discovers she is part of a group of magical beings called Singers. Cassandra is 15 and has been hearing strange music. She hears and sees even stranger things when a dragon crash lands in her school's parking lot. This leads her on a cross-Canada road trip with an elf and an imp as she tries to save the magical and non-magical realms from a dark mage.
The inevitable comparison with Harry Potter aside, the story behind the story is a lesson for all struggling writers.
"In the past, I always got very caught up in the details of trying to write books. It was always [about] the world building and then I would never actually get around to writing it because I got very caught up in the planning of it," she confessed.
She read Stephen King's On Writing and took his advice: devise a scenario for your character and then just write without already having the end in sight.
The scenario Hamm devised perhaps could have gone into a number of different genres.
"I thought, ‘Well, what if I had this girl and in front of her eyes, her teacher transformed into a rhinoceros? What would happen?’ That was the initial idea and then it just grew from there."
The first draft took a year and then sat on a shelf, giving her time to concentrate on her studies. After her convocation, The Songs of Magic called out to her again. She wanted to finish what she started, and she wanted to do it right, too. She hired an editor and took writing advice from a local author, and even watched online videos about publishing.
In the end, she started her own company to publish her books. This is the first release from Jazz Cat Publishing, but it won't likely be the last. Early reports from readers — even older readers — are encouraging. It's a delightful read, one that seems to have come from a seasoned writer whose ease with the story belies its whimsical rhinoceros origin.
The book is part of a trilogy she plans to publish. She's currently working on the second book, while she waits for the world to open up opportunities for promotional events. People can visit her website to learn as those plans solidify.
