Kandi Wyatt & Phyllis Wheeler are on the blog today celebrating their November new releases. Kandi’s Exhalted is the third book in her best-selling dragon fantasy series for young adults, and Phyllis’s Guardians of Time is the first book in her middle-grade time travel series.
But instead of a traditional interview, we’ll be mixing things up today by embarking on an adventure with their characters. Afterwards, keep reading for details about their launch celebration giveaway!
Before the characters portal to a new world together, here’s a little about the worlds they come from.
Now for the Adventure!
Imagine Jake, Ava, Hest, and Usheen are transported to a back-alley market in an alternate Victorian Era where magic and technology exist. The pairs land on opposite sides, and Usheen is transformed into a human. As they make their way through the crowded market, what do each most hope to find?
Kandi: Hest would love looking at anything made of wood or even metal. He’d enjoy the trinkets and would be looking for something to purchase for his wife Siobhan. Usheen, once over the fact that’s he’s in human form, would love looking and basically just want to enjoy what it’s like to be human.
Phyllis: Jake and Ava would enjoy being somewhere medievally weird. They might exclaim over items that are something they can’t figure out how it’s used. Ava loves puzzles and puzzling things. Jake’s fond of animals, so any animal toy or replica would attract him.
There is a large booth filled with various gadgets and magical objects in the middle of the market. A sign posted states, “Look with your eyes, not your hands.” The four approach around the same time. Hest and Ava strike up a conversation over a small, odd shaped object with a golden button. Jake and Usheen are also drawn into the conversation. None of them know what the object is or what it does. Who pushes the button?
Kandi: I could see this conversation being rather interesting. Hest would be analytical and wondering what it does. He’d be careful not to touch it. Unless Ava or Jake touch it, my guess is Usheen would reach toward the object asking what it does, and since he’s not accustomed to his body, he bumps the button.
Phyllis: Ava would try to analyze what it is, what it does, think of possibilities. Jake is likely to just reach out and touch the button. He’s curious, he’s 11, and he’s impulsive.
The gadget lets off a potent and unpleasant odor. One of them cracks a joke about the stench. Who is it?
Kandi: Neither of my characters would joke about the stench. Depending on the odor, Usheen may mention it smelling like something out of the River District of Cahar. Hest would scrunch up his nose and say the stables smell better than that.
Phyllis: If the stench smells like sewer gas, Jake is likely to think it’s funny, being really not quite out of that age where passing gas is considered embarrassing and also funny. Ava is above all that, would ignore the smell.
The proprietor turns towards them, motioning to the menacing guards standing by. Who creates a distraction so they can all escape, and what do they do to create a distraction?
Kandi: Usheen would naturally assume he could fly around blowing fire. So, of my two, he’d create the distraction. My guess is he’d try to breathe fire, and nothing would happen. He’d then roar. A dragon roar is rather ear-shattering. He’d be willing to work with someone else to make a scene so Hest could get away and then try to slip away himself.
Phyllis: Ava would point out that a distraction is needed. It might take her a bit longer to think of one. Jake will be useless. So I think Usheen probably has good reflexes and should take care of the distraction, after Ava and Hest call for one.
Their attempt to escape is successful, and Hest, Usheen, Jake, and Ava portal back to their worlds.
Thank you, ladies! And congratulations on your new releases!
Grab a copy of Guardians of Time and Exalted to continue the adventure.
Launch Giveaway!
Exalted by Kandi J Wyatt and The Dog Snatcher by Phyllis Wheeler both release early in November. To celebrate, they’re having a family-friendly giveaway. For details on the giveaway and how to enter, visit Kandi’s website: https://kandijwyatt.com/launch-giveaway/.
Giveaway ends tomorrow on November 8th at 5:30 PM Central (3:30 PM Pacific).
About Kandi
From the Mid-west to the West Coast, Kandi J Wyatt has lived a full life of adventure from the comfort of her own home with her family. She writes books that blend reality and fantasy with worlds that you long to live in and characters you love in order to bring hope and light to kids (and their parents, too). Pulling from her own experiences as teacher, photographer, hobbyist and language learner, she weaves faith into her worlds to give them an eternal spark that ignites imagination and leaves you with a sense of wonder.
Connect with Kandi through her website or on social media.
About Phyllis
Phyllis Wheeler set a goal at age 13 to write a children’s book, a journey with lots of detours that has taken many years. She’s written for daily newspapers, worked on airplanes as a mechanical engineer, and raised four children, doing some homeschooling along the way. She has lived in a variety of places, but for most of her adult life has called St. Louis home. Get a free short story when you sign up for her occasional newsletter at PhyllisWheeler.com
Connect with Phyllis through her website or on instagram.
Thanks to Unleashing Readers and Teach Mentor Text for hosting #IMWAYR. Check out the other It’s Monday! What Are You Reading posts!
K.A. Cummins 
This is a brilliant way to introduce these characters from the new books. I want to read them all!
That’s great. I hope you enjoy the books. And best wishes on the giveaway!