SATA

• The Temptation of Magic - 2024 HarperCollins, New York, NY

• Amazon -

  Megan Scott is a romance and fantasy writer from the North West of England.

  Her first novel for young adults, THE TEMPTATION OF MAGIC, is publishing with HarperCollins imprints in the UK and US in early 2024, beginning the EMPYREAL trilogy. Full of romance, mythology and the supernatural.

  She studied Art History and Classical Civilisation and earned a distinction on her Masters of Research expanding on depictions of myth in nineteenth century art. Both of which still inspire her novels.

  She is currently working on her next books. When she’s not writing or on Pinterest, she’s listening to or singing Jazz, trying to read as much as her nana, or paint something she doesn’t want to ceremoniously burn in the garden.

• LitJoy - https://litjoycrate.com/a/blog/qa-with-megan-scott?srsltid=AfmBOoovdM-fOH7uvLUgmHNrzm4jpBWcRdSloLr2za0BU5Ay6fP6Ig31

  Q&A with Megan Scott | Debut Author of The Temptation of Magic
  Author Interviews | To Bee Read Book Boxes
  06/28/2024 10:00am 8 minute read

  Listen to article
  1x

  6:54
  Audio generated by DropInBlog's Blog Voice AI™ may have slight pronunciation nuances. Learn more
  What do you get when a lover of romantic stories, art history, and myth sits down to write a book? Why, a bestselling dark academia romantasy, of course (at least when Megan Scott is writing it)! We are SO excited that debut author Megan Scott took the time for a Q&A with us. Read on for a peek into the life of one of the UK's rising star authors!

  Book cover of Temptation of Magic by Megan Scott in LitJoy's To Bee Read Book Box Subscription

  The Temptation of Magic, the newly released, internationally bestselling, mesmerizing debut by Megan Scott is one of the choices in our August 2024 To Bee Read Book Box. Sink into a journey through a British coastal college town, navigating forbidden romance and unraveling dangerous, supernatural secrets. This upper YA book is the first in Megan Scott's Empyreal Trilogy, and the LitJoy Special Edition is truly stunning!

  Want your own copy of this stunning edition of Megan Scott's The Temptation of Magic, or to see all the other amazing options in our quarterly book box? Learn more about our To Bee Read Book Box Subscription here!

  LitJoy Special Edition Temptation of Magic endpaper art

  Q&A with Author Megan Scott
  What do you think makes a good story?
  This is SUCH a great question, and honestly, I don’t think there’s a true answer because reading is so deeply personal. Sometimes you just want escapism and steamy scenes, sometimes you want something with incredibly detailed world building. It really does depend on who you are, what you love, and what you want as a reader. Which can also change at different points in your life! I’ve tried to read a few books and disliked them, only to pick them up again years later and they become new favourites. It’s not that the book wasn’t good, I just wasn’t either in love with that genre at the time, or it wasn’t the right time for me to read it, personally.

  As a writer, there are more quantifiable ways to tell if a story is good, but these should usually be looked at in the realm of the book’s genre! I don’t ever think it’s really fair to judge a book by different standards. For example, to say a book is bad for having no romance, if it’s a gritty sci-fi thriller, doesn’t make sense. Or a women’s fiction novel if there’s no happy-ever-after because that’s a requirement of the romance genre, not women’s fiction! In terms of general fiction and writing craft, there is, of course, the main categories to build a book: plot, pace, character arcs, world building, etc., and these can often be looked at in most genres.

  For me, I veer towards romance books, so I love to have well-developed characters (so I understand why they do what they do), a clear aesthetic, steamy scenes, and bonus points if the writing has some lyricism or lovely lines.

  But in the end, it’s all about how you feel reading the story, and what you enjoy!

  What is your writing process like?
  I always have to have a very clear aesthetic before I work on something. If I can’t see something in a cinematic, clear way, I can’t usually start it. So I start by writing down my initial ideas which usually come in snippets of dialogue, visuals or plot elements. I then put them into certain lists: a 'love list' (what I love about the book already), a ‘core ideas’ list (which reminds me what I want to do with this story), and a ‘character’ list (explaining who the character is and what they want).

  I then brainstorm based on my ideas, which is my favourite part of the process and is where I build up a Pinterest board and playlists. In this process, I write a loose blurb so I know the gist of the story and get excited about imagining it on the back of a book, and I expand each piece of character info or vibe into plot, until I feel like I’ve got something like lily pads in a pond and the core scenes I want in the book.

  I never used to outline, but the more I’ve written and done edits and learned about craft, the more I’ve started to outline in detail to stop heavy edits afterwards! A fantastic book for this is Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes. A lot of outlining or plotting books can be dense and hard to understand, or just plain overwhelming, but Gwen’s book is so simple, funny, and direct. It is based on rom-com structure, but it really helped me wrap my head around character arcs, as they’re the core for most books.

  I tend to write out of order depending on what scene feels formed or I want to work on, so I write those (adding to the lily pads) and then connect it together as I flesh out of more of the book! Then I set a loose word count goal and try to get the rest of the story out, before doing an edit round or two and sending to my family to read, and then my agent!

  What are 3 books on your TBR?
  Megan Scott TBR List

  Sing Me to Sleep by Gabi Burton
  The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
  The Gentleman's Gambit by Evie Dunmore
  I hope I get to them soon, but I’m ten books behind on my Goodreads challenge so pray for me.

  What was the first book that made you cry? Laugh? Get angry?
  Cry: New Moon! Twilight really was my book awakening. I was the perfect age and it became my favourite thing. I sobbed when I read New Moon. I also threw the book across the room when Edward left Bella, which was outrageous—I would never want to damage a book!!

  Laugh: I think this was Gideon the Ninth! That book is not only exquisitely written in terms of language and fascinating characters, but it is so funny I always laugh when I re-read it, too, which is saying something. But I also love Tessa Bailey, she has some very funny moments in her books.

  Get Angry: I’m cheating on this one because it’s an adaptation, but Outlander! There was a lot in that show that really made me furious. The worst things happen to the characters and it’s extremely intense at times. I desperately wanted to climb into the book and help them, but I couldn’t!! I fell in love with the first episode, but definitely check the trigger warnings for that series!

  But I also don’t really have the emotional ability to read books that make me too upset haha, I’m a sensitive bean, give me my HEA and a hot water bottle and I’m good.

  Give us a snapshot of an ordinary moment in your life that brings you great (Lit)Joy?
  I’m a big believer in finding something positive in every day, and I learned that after hard times in my life, when I needed something that was okay. It’s led to me loving very normal ‘small’ moments, and doing a daily gratitude list. So here are my favourites:

  Falling in love with a new book (which is honestly rare! So this is a treasured one.)
  Having a hot shower (I love being warm, which is why I usually have a hot water bottle with me. I just don’t like weather that’s too hot!)
  Fresh bedsheets
  My daily coffee (decaf with frothy coconut milk)
  Pinterest! Honestly, I’m obsessed.
  Hugs (I’m a big hugger, if you hug me, I might not let go and have to fight the urge to snuggle you and fall asleep)
  About the Author
  Megan Scott Headshot

  Megan Scott is a romance and fantasy writer from the North West of England. The Temptation of Magic first published with HarperCollins imprints in the UK and US in early 2024, and is full of romance, mythology, and the supernatural. She studied Art History and Classical Civilisation and earned a distinction on her Masters of Research expanding on depictions of myth in nineteenth century art. Both of which still inspire her novels. She is currently working on her next books. When she’s not writing or on Pinterest, she’s listening to or singing Jazz, trying to read as much as her nana, or paint something she doesn’t want to ceremoniously burn in the garden.

Scott, Megan THE TEMPTATION OF MAGIC Harper/HarperCollins (Teen None) $19.99 8, 27 ISBN: 9781335006950

An 18-year-old girl's days of hiding her true supernatural identity are tested when she's embroiled in the mystery surrounding a prominent professor's death.

The Palmers are a secretive supernatural family in Cornwall, England. Nicole and her brother, Dylan, pretend to only be Seers like their father and younger sister, Bells, but they're actually Empyreals--rare, powerful hunters who can shape-shift into any being's deadliest predator. Nicole knows that if she and Dylan ever transform, the Wake, or shadowy organization that controls the paranormal world and killed their Empyreal mother, will force them to join their ranks or die. Nicole believes she can decode a final message from her mother hidden inThe Wild Hunt of Odin, a famous folkloric painting, but after Diana Westmoore, the professor and art collector who owns the painting, dies suddenly, the Wake send their best Empyreal assassin, Kyan McCarter, to retrieve the painting and hunt the supernatural killer. Kyan and Nicole are immediately drawn to each other, even though he's lived monastically for centuries, and she's been taught to avoid the Wake at all costs. Their forced proximity causes proverbial sparks to fly. Filled with intriguing worldbuilding, a swoony forbidden romance, and a diverse collection of fascinating mythological creatures who coexist in the human and supernatural worlds, this series opener is ideal for fans of Holly Black, Cassandra Clare, and Sally Green. Main characters are cued white, Dylan is queer, and the supporting cast includes diversity in race and sexual orientation.

A promising, page-turning romantasy.(Fantasy romance. 14-18)

Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Scott, Megan: THE TEMPTATION OF MAGIC." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Aug. 2024. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A802864996/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=214aacef. Accessed 14 Jan. 2025.

The Temptation of Magic.

By Megan Scott.

Aug. 2024. 48op. Harlequin/Inkyard, $19.99

(9781335006950). Gr. 9-12.

Nicole, secretly a magical being called an Empyreal, moves through life fearing her magic's lack of control. She will become a hunter of evil creatures, but she doesn't know when. Kyan is an Empyreal as well, but he has been hunting evil creatures for centuries, magically transforming into the most deadly enemy of his prey. He works for a shady institution called the Wake and his newest assignment takes him to the college where Nicole is busy with her dissertation on ancient art. When they cross paths the first time, his orders are to keep Nicole away from a supernatural art collection. Nicole recognizes Kyan as a fellow Empyreal--one sent by the Wake. As they cooperate to catch a Specter, they find that even at conflicting purposes, their magic will pull them together. Debut author Scott pays close attention to the details of the English setting; her descriptions are lush and glittering. The inclusion of real art and artists will draw readers into the mysteries of the Empyreal world, the subject of a planned trilogy.--Stacey Comfort

Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
Comfort, Stacey. "The Temptation of Magic." Booklist, vol. 120, no. 21, July 2024, p. 80. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A804615988/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=eaa84a9a. Accessed 14 Jan. 2025.