Hypable has an exclusive look at the cover art for the YA fantasy debut The Novice, first book in the Summoner trilogy, and an interview with author Taran Matharu!

The Summoner trilogy by Taran Matharu began its life on Wattpad, but the first novel in this high-adventure fantasy series will be completed in a more traditional venue. Book one, titled The Novice, will be published in its full form for the first time by Feiwel and Friends in May 2015.

Check out the cover art for The Novice by Taran Matharu right here, and enter our giveaway to win one of five advance copies of the first book in this exciting new trilogy!

Summary

When blacksmith apprentice Fletcher discovers that he has the ability to summon demons from another world, he travels to Adept Military Academy. There the gifted are trained in the art of summoning. Fletcher is put through grueling training as a battlemage to fight in the Hominum Empire’s war against orcs. He must tread carefully while training alongside children of powerful nobles. The power hungry, those seeking alliances, and the fear of betrayal surround him. Fletcher finds himself caught in the middle of powerful forces, with only his demon Ignatius for help.

As the pieces on the board maneuver for supremacy, Fletcher must decide where his loyalties lie. The fate of an empire is in his hands. The Novice is the first in a trilogy about Fletcher, his demon Ignatius, and the war against the orcs.

Interview with Taran Marathu

Tell us five random facts about yourself.

1. I am originally half Brazilian and half Indian, but I was born and raised in London. I have been to both countries and I speak Portuguese fluently.

2. I once saved my little sister from a rampaging hippo in Kenya by picking her up and climbing up a wall before it reached us. I can still remember the sound of it breathing below us when we got to the top!

3. I began writing my first novel at the age of 9, a story called “Wizswords” about a family of wizards and warriors who were in a constant battle with a witch called Widower.

4. The strangest things I have eaten while traveling are crocodile, kangaroo, llama, camel, zebra, piranha and firefly grubs.

Interestingly enough, I caught the piranha myself when I was traveling in the Amazon. It was the same water I had been swimming in a few minutes before! They don’t taste very nice though, they are really bony!

5. I wrote the first half of The Novice in one month, taking part in National Novel Writing Month, a.k.a. NaNoWriMo. It’s a great way to write, because you basically live in your book’s world the entire time, rather than dipping in and out every now and again.

What is your favorite element of the cover for The Novice?

Other than the fact that it takes elements from the original Wattpad cover I designed with the help of my favorite artist, Malgorzata Gruszka, I absolutely love the sickle sword that Fletcher is holding, otherwise known as a khopesh. It’s a very cool weapon and was the chosen sword of the Egyptian Empire for more than a thousand years.

Why did you most want to write Fletcher’s story?

Whenever I browsed the shelves in my local bookstore, I constantly searched for books that contained all the elements from stories I loved, such as creatures like Pokemon, a school like Harry Potter’s and a setting like Lord of the Rings, but I could never find anything like it. So I decided to write the book myself!

Which is easier to write: The first line, or the last line?

The first line is much harder. The reader knows nothing about your story yet and you need to hook them in just one sentence. It’s definitely tricky and I always find myself flipping to the front page of some of my favorite books, to see how other authors did it to me!

In contrast, the last line is just the final flourish of a much larger story that the reader is now invested in. It’s almost like writing the last line of a chapter, but with a bit more emphasis. Then again, I think the final line of the Summoner trilogy will be a lot harder. With the last lines of the first two books, you know it’s not the real ending to the story. The last line of a series will always be tough, because you don’t want it to end!

What are you working on now?

At the moment I am putting the finishing touches on The Novice‘s manuscript, but I am also writing some new content for my incredible fans on Wattpad, so they can still enjoy the Summoner world as they wait for publication day. I can’t wait to tell them about it!

For more information…

Follow Taran on Twitter as @TaranMatharu1 and visit the world of The Summoner on Wattpad.

Giveaway!

Enter to win one of five advance copies of The Novice by Taran Matharu!

Giveaway open to readers in the U.S. and Canada.

The Novice by Taran Matharu will hit bookstores on May 5, 2015.